


A Queen's Lagacy.

by hayes768



Series: The Legacy Universe. [1]
Category: DC Cinematic Universe, Green Arrow (Comics)
Genre: Connor's last name is not Hawke, Drunk Sex, Everyone Has Issues, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/M, Goes from 0 to 100 really fucking quick, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Protective Rose Wilson, Protective Siblings, Teen Pregnancy, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-14
Updated: 2018-10-19
Packaged: 2018-12-11 19:46:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 90,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11721276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hayes768/pseuds/hayes768
Summary: This story takes place in 2023. Connor Queen and Rose Wilson have been best friends ever since they were children, much to their parents dismay. But could there something more between them, when Rose asks Connor for help they are forced to get closer and confront their unspoken feelings for one another.





	1. A Queen's Lagacy.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This story takes place in 2023. Connor Queen and Rose Wilson have been best friends ever since they were children much to their parents dismay. Connor and Rose have always had this unspoken tension between them. But when Rose asks Connor for help, they must get close and confront their feelings for each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys and gals. This is my first fanfiction. I've had this story idea for years and I decided to bite the bullet and write the first chapter. This whole story will have some mature themes. It's not too heavy in the chapter, but I thought I'd give you all heads up.  
> If you want to talk to me or just tell me off, you can do so on Tumblr at hands127-blog. (I should've chosen a better name).
> 
> I want to thank you all for reading this and I hope you enjoy it.

 

* * *

"Focus Connor, you can't loose her!" Dinah Lance shouts through the com link.

"Sorry Mom, I'm trying my best here." Connor shouts back in angry retort, continuing to chase after a mysterious girl who outwits him at every turn. He tries firing arrows with his bow to slow her down but the arrows just end up whizzing past her head, this causes her to stop turn around towards Connor and give a cheeky smile before firing her pistol at him.

As Connor dives for cover, he can hear his mother on the other end. "Connor, are you okay? I'm monitoring your vitals, your heart rate is skyrocketing. Do you want me send Ollie to help you?"

"NO! I can handle this!" He shouts in frustration before ripping the his cowl from his head, severing the visual link with his parents and continues running after the girl.

Dinah on the other end of the link, slams her fist on the table before standing from her chair and running her fingers through her hair, looking over to Oliver with a worried look on her face. Oliver approaches her slowly, placing a hand on her cheek and giving her a soft smile. "He's going to be fine, Dinah. We trained to handle situations like this. I trust him." He embraces her in a hug.

"How do you know? You thought that goatee was a good idea, so forgive me if I don't trust your judgement." Dinah chuckles, pointing at his face.

Back in in city, the girl continues to run away, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, occasionally looking back to see if Connor is still behind her. She is so distracted by the lovely chase they're having, she doesn't hear Connor screaming her name. "Rose, Stop!"

Rose doesn't realize what's wrong until too late. There's a large gap between buildings that she can't jump, so she plants her feet on ground to stop herself, loosing her balance and nearly going over the edge in process. After she catches her balance, Rose looks back to see Connor has almost caught up with her, still screaming at her to stop. As he comes near, she notices how out of breath he is. "What's wrong pretty boy? Do I have you all hot and bothered?"

"Rose, are you going to stop and talk to me or do I have keep chasing you?" Connor says with a loaded arrow pointed at her head.

"Chase me!" She says with a smile and a wink before jumping of the building, only to realize she doesn't have enough momentum to make it across.

"Un-fucking-believeable!" Connor says in disbelief, dropping his bow and jumping after her using his inherited Metahuman ability of sonic wave blasts from hands to propel himself forward enough to catch her in his arms before crashing through a window across the street.

When their bodies come rest, Connor rolls off of Rose in order to give her a chance to breathe. They both look at each other with of pure shock at what just happened before she sits up and quickly rips off her Ravager cowl. "What the hell, Connor!? You chased me down just to get a stupid trinket!?" She yells, punching him in the arm.

"I... I like your hair."

"Seriously, dude. You chased me down for five blocks just to make comments on my hair!?" Rose asks, punching Connor before he can see her blush at the compliment.

"Yes... wait, no. I need to ask you a question. Will you go to the senior prom with me?"

"Are you fucking kidding! I'm trying to kill you, and you want to take me to prom!?"

Connor looks at Rose nervously, feeling his heart rate suddenly skyrocket. "Well...yeah, I wanted to ask you at school, but you didn't show up today and it didn't feel right to do it over the phone. It's the last dance before we graduate. C'mon it'll be fun, no costumes or weapons. We can dance the night away and all the other crap that normal teenagers do, than deal with a massive hangover in the morning."

Connor tries give Rose puppy dog eyes, which only causes her to look away and give small laugh. "What?" He asks curiously, playfully bumping shoulders with her.

"I just can't believe they're gonna lets us graduate after all of the classes we skipped together."

"I can't believe we made it to our eighteenth birthdays, considering our work as Titans." Connor replies.

They're silent for a while, simply enjoying the other's company. Connor closes his eyes and reminisces about all the time they spent playing and growing together as children, it was them against the world for as long as they can remember. He feels Rose grip his hand and he knows she's doing the same.

"Fine, I'll go with you." Connor's eyes snap open and he tries to say something, but Rose cuts him off. "If you celebrate by doing some stupid dance right now, I will kill you. And no flowers!... Do I have to wear a dress?" She asks apprehensively.

"Not unless you want to, you know you've never had to impress me. Just be your badass self." Connor says, standing to his feet so he doesn't see Rose's cheeks blush.

Connor turns and gives a hand to pull Rose her feet like a gentleman. "So, do you want to meet at the dance tomorrow night?"

Rose stands awkwardly looking down at her feet before looking up at Connor and nodding in agreement at his plan. She begins making her way to the exit before she stopped by him.

"Rose, I need that Mother Box you stole. Did you think I'd forget how this chase began?"

She doesn't turn around, but opens a pouch on her belt and pulls out a Mother Box and tosses it behind her. Connor is distracted with catching it, he doesn't realize Rose has disappeared, leaving him behind.

Connor can't help but chuckle and shake his head in response to her mysterious exit. "I can't believe it, she Batmaned me."

* * *

 Connor cautiously sneaks through the dark house, careful not to disturb his sleeping parents and sister. He almost got away with it when the lights in the dining room turn on and Connor comes face to face his parents sitting at the table with looks of concern on their faces. Dinah is the first to approach Connor, taking large, fast steps towards him before he has a chance to run. The first thing she does is reach up and slaps him on the of back his head before holding him close. "What the hell were you thinking? Cutting your father and I out like that?"

"Would you please calm down!? I still got the Mother Box. Just took a little detour first." Connor says, grabbing the Mother Box and puts it on the counter.

"That's not the point, son. You could've been hurt or worse-" Oliver can't bring himself to finish the sentence out of fear of the thoughts it could bring. "And what happened to your bow?"

Connor nervously looks down at his feet, trying to avoid eye contact as he answers. "I...might've lost it before jumping through a window." He says, trying to look innocent.

"YOU JUMPED THROUGH A WINDOW!" Both parents yell at Connor.

"Shh shh, would you guys please calm down. Your gonna wake Olivia." Connor says quietly, trying to calm his parents.

Dinah gently holds Connor's face in her hands, examining all of his cuts and bruises with a parental sadness, seeing him as the little boy she gave birth to as she leads him over to the table. "Sit down, let me have a look at you. Ollie, can you get the med kit please?"

Oliver nods in response before leaving the room. Connor sits down and begins removing pieces of his Green Arrow armor and Dinah sits down to help him. He whines in pain while removing more and more pieces before looking over at Dinah to notice tears welling in her eyes and he reaches out and lightly grips her hand

"Mom..."

"I won't bury you! Okay, I won't bury you. I will set your bones, I will stich your wounds, we gave you the tools and training to continue this idiotic crusade, but I will not bury you. I deserve that much and you deserve to have a life, I want to give you that." Dinah says angrily with her fist clenched and tears streaming down her face before she can stop them.

Connor reaches out and embraces his mother in a tight hug, feeling the weight of her words. "Just promise me one thing! promise me you'll be more careful...please." Dinah says, crying into Connor's shoulder.

"I will, I promise." Connor says, trying to hold back tears of own.

They stay in each other embrace for a long time, only separating when Oliver comes back with the med kit and places it on the table. "Okay kiddo, let's get you patched up." Oliver says, opening the kit.

The patch work is tedious, but necessary. The only good thing to come of it is they have all done this so many times that it's down to a science. None of the three say anything for fear of one of them having another breakdown until Oliver breaks the silence. "Alright kid, we're done now. Here, put this on so Olivia doesn't see your bandages." He says, tossing a hoodie at Connor.

"What about the ones on my face?"

"Just tell her you fell or something, you were always clumsy as a kid." Oliver responds as they all rise from their chairs.

"I don't understand why we can't just tell her?"

"No. Absolutely not, I won't have two of my kids in danger, she's innocent."

"And I'm not!" Connor shouts at Oliver, clenching his fist at his side.

Oliver looks back his son with sadness in his eyes, remembering how happy he was as a kid. "You used to be."

Connor gets right up in his father's face. "You have something to say, dad?" He prepares to hit his father before Dinah pushes them away.

"STOP IT, BOTH OF YOU!" Dinah shouts quietly, immediately taking charge of the situation. 

Connor scoffs, "Alright, I'm going to bed." He says, wrapping his mother in a tight hug

"I love you, pretty bird."

"I love you too, mom." 

Connor lets go of his mother as she touches his cheek before moving over to father, giving a very cold expression, extending a hand out. Oliver looks at the hand in shock before he grabs him and wraps in a tight hug. "I love you, son. Get some rest." Oliver says sincerely.  

"I love you too, pops." Connor says, the anger dissipating from his face. 

Connor turns and walks away before stoping short and turning back to his parents "Oh, I asked Rose Wilson to the senior prom tomorrow night, so I was wondering if I could barrow a tuxedo and maybe grandpa's old Mustang?"

Oliver and Dinah look at him in shock and disbelief before she relents. "Fine, but remember your father and I are going to be out of town tomorrow. So you have to pick up Olivia from choir practice at 7 and bring her back here, then you can go."

"Okay, will do. Thank you." Connor turns and goes to his room, but decides to open the door to Olivia's room just enough to see that she is still sound asleep in bed before closing the door.

Connor walks into his room, closing the door behind him before taking off his boots and changing into pajamas, his thoughts are only on Rose as he lays on the bed. Despite the door being closed, he can still hear his parents talk about him in the next room.

"Ollie, do you think it was too soon to send Connor out on his own? I mean this is the third time in a month he's come home with injuries like this, he's getting reckless. I'm worried about him. And it doesn't help when you're always hard on him" 

"I'm only hard him because I care about him. I see too much of myself in him as a young man, before the island. He's brash, arrogant and reckless, I know he can be better than me, but if we blench him now, he'll never forgive us. He could strike out in anger and hurt himself or others and I don't think hanging around Rose Wilson will help him. She's dangerous." Oliver's says, pulling Dinah in close.

"I still don't like her." Dinah says protectively

"You never have." Oliver says with a chuckle.

Connor is still over hearing the conversation in his room when his mother's next words break his heart.

 "Are you proud of him?"

Connor slumps down to floor, using the bed as support while tears begin to stream down his face while waiting for father's response.

"I don't know, you?"

"I don't know either. I told him he deserves more than this." Dinah says, pointing to discarded pieces of armor and seeing them as a trap "But Connor is hell bent on this crusade and I fear it's too late to stop him."

Oliver sighs, looking down at Dinah and taking her hand. "I will talk to him soon. I'm tired and going to bed, how about you, pretty bird?"

* * *

Olivia Queen stands outside her school, Impatiently tapping her foot on the curb, looking at her watch to notice it's 7:15 p.m., she groans in frustration when her stomach grumbles. Suddenly a 1965 Ford Mustang races down the street before pulling into the parking lot and coming to a stop in front of her.   

The door swings open and Connor steps out wearing a white dress shirt, black tuxedo pants and dress shoes, stepping forward and wrapping Olivia in a hug. "How you doing, Smalls?"

Olivia can't help but laugh at the nickname  her brother has called her since she was a child, mocking her short stature."You're late. What were you doing? Fixing your hair"? She asks mockingly, stepping into passenger seat and throwing her backpack in the back next to a black tuxedo jacket.

"You can't rush perfection." He says sarcastically, touching his dirty blonde hair to make sure it's perfect before stepping into the car and driving down the street.

"Mom and dad are out of town, but there are leftovers in the fridge for you. I got you a snack in case you're hungry now." He reaches down, keeping his eyes on the road before pulling out a plastic bag and tosses towards Olivia. She reaches in a pulls out a candy bar before looking at Connor angrily. 

"What? It's got peanuts, that's protein." Connor laughs.

"I'm allergic remember? If I eat this, I will die!"

Connor's eyes go wide as he realizes his mistake. "Oh my god, Olivia I'm so sorry. It's been so long since your last incident I forgot."

Olivia throws the bag away angrily before pouting in her seat. Connor notices her pouting and reaches over to and places a hand on her shoulder, but she doesn't look at him. He reaches over to the radio and tunes it to Top 40 Hits.

"C'mon, this always cheered you up as kid, you can't resist Katy Perry." Connor says, seeing Olivia slowly relent and begin humming to the beat. The rest of ride home Connor and Olivia sing along with the radio at the top of their lungs as if they were children again. When they reach the house, he stops the car as Olivia grabs her backpack then steps out the car, closing the door behind her before turning around putting her arms on the door and poking her head through the open window.

"Alright Smalls, are you going to be okay on your own tonight? Do you have your house key?" Connor asks with a worried look.

Olivia scoffs in annoyance before reaching in her pocket producing a key for Connor to see. Olivia doesn't show it, but she secretly loves how protective her older brother is. "Have fun, and because mom isn't here to say it I will tell you to make good choices tonight." She says sternly, trying her best to sound authoritative.

Connor simply gives her a thumbs up before driving off to the high school with Olivia waving goodbye in the rear view mirror.

* * *

As Connor pulls into parking lot, he can see other students heading inside. He turns off the car, taking a moment to put on his bow tie using the drop down mirror before grabbing his jacket from the backseat then steps out the car and closes the door behind him, putting on his jacket as he walks toward the entrance. 

Connor notices that Rose isn't here yet so he decides to wait for her so they can walk in together as a couple, he waits and waits. He waits for her so long that other students give him looks of pity as they walk in. He considers giving up and going home to join his sister on the couch with a tub of ice cream when his phone buzzes in his pocket, he pulls it out to notice a text from Rose.

**Rosy Posy: I'm here, but I need your help. Come find me.**

Frustrated, Connor shoves his phone back in his pocket and marches into the school with determination. It doesn't take long for him to find Rose. She is standing in a low lit, empty hallway wearing street clothes with a hood covering her face.

Connor expects himself to be angry with Rose, but can't bring himself to do it and hisexpression softens when he sees his friend. "Y'know couples are supposed to coordinate their colors so they match, but you were always a rule breaker." He jokes, but Rose doesn't laugh, doesn't even respond then Connor realizes something is wrong and, causing him to pick up the pace, almost breaking into a run as he reaches her.

He gently places his hands on Rose's shoulders as he tries looking in her eyes. "Rose..." No response, instead Rose's gaze falls to her feet, actively trying to avoid Connor.

He tries one more time to get Rose to look at him."Rose, you said you needed help, but I can't help you if you tell me what's wrong. Please, you know you can trust me." Rose only turns her back, which causes him to snap. "ROSE, I CAN'T HELP YOU IF YOU DON'T TAKE DOWN THE DAMN HOOD AND LOOK AT ME!... Please." 

Rose relents, turning around and quickly taking off her hood, causing Connor to step back in shock. He clenches his fist in anger when he sees her absolutely beaten, bloody and bruised to hell. "HAPPY NOW! GO ON AND LAUGH!" She yells, trying to fight back tears.

"Never." Connor gently takes Rose's hand before she can protest or fight, looking back at her with concern while leading her over to his locker, where he opens it and grabs a med kit. 

"What are you doing?" Rose asks, gripping Connor's hand tighter out of curiosity.

"We need to get somewhere safe so I can get a good look at your injuries. Are you ready?"

Rose nods before they take off down the hall hand in hand. 

* * *

"We should be safe in here." Connor says, leading Rose into an empty bathroom.

"How romantic." Rose says sarcastically as Connor helps her take off her backpack before gently sitting her on the floor against the wall, placing the backpack and the med kit on the counter. After everything that's happened to her, she can't take it anymore and curls up, begins to sob into her knees. She doesn't realize how long she's been crying until Connor speaks up softly.

"Rose..." 

Rose looks up to see Connor squatted down in front of her looking back at her with his beautiful blue eyes, wet paper towels in hand and no longer wearing a jacket. "Rose... In order to this properly we're going have to get close, I mean really close. Do you trust me?" Rose simply nods before Connor sits down, moving closely beside her. "Now, just relax." He says as he gently starts to clean the blood from Rose's face.

It takes some time, but when Connor is done, he throws the used towels away before opening the med kit and taking out the necessary bandages while Rose takes the opportunity to speak up. "Why did you help me?... Especially when you didn't have to." She asks hesitantly, almost scared for the answer.

Connor looks into her in eyes. "Because you're my friend, I'm always here to patch you up, besides..."  He turns his attention back to Rose's wounds before answering. "You would've done the same for me."

Rose scoffs in disbelief. "I don't know if I'm worth all of this to you." 

"You are. More than you know. Let me prove it to you." Connor says sincerely, placing a bandage to Rose's chin.

Rose pushes his hand away before snapping in anger. "WHY DO CARE SO MUCH? I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF!"

"BECAUSE YOU DON'T!" Connor snaps back. "Because you don't care about yourself or others. At least that's what you like to tell yourself to make everything easier. Maybe it is true, and that's okay because I can care enough for the both of us so you know that you are loved. When you're out there as Ravager, you present yourself as a cold, distant, unfeeling assassin, but that's not you, that's not the Rose I know. You're wrong, I know you care about yourself, you care others. Even if you won't admit it."

"And how would you know that, Sherlock?" Rose says sarcastically with raised eyebrow.

"You could've easily killed me a long time, and yet, you came to me for help tonight." Connor says to prove his point. Rose quickly refuses to look at  him out of shame, and Connor realizes he may have gone too far. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for." He says, turning his attention to her wounds.

Rose sighs knowing that Connor has completely broken through her tough exterior. "You're right." She says quietly.

"Rose, have you been drinking? because I thought you just I was right."

In response, Rose leans over to her backpack, quickly unzips it and pulls a half empty bottle of whiskey. "It helps to dull the pain." She says weakly in defense before raising the bottle her lips.

"I bet it does." Connor says as he stands and snatches the bottle from her before she can take another drink, "But this will be a lot faster if you're sober. "Now, do you have any other injuries I should be concerned about?"

"No, you've done enough, Mother Teresa." Rose jokes, trying to hide the intense pain still on her face.

Connor looks at her with concern in his eyes. "You're still hurt so clearly I haven't."

Rose sighs, standing to her feet, "Promise me you won't laugh at me."

"Never."

"I have a deep gash on my ribs." She starts slowly removing layers of clothing until she's in her underwear, revealing her old scars for Connor to see. She looks down her feet nervously before Connor steps toward her, gently placing a finger under her chin, raising her head until it presses against his.

"Are these your scars? They're beautiful, so are you" Connor whispers so quietly it makes her skin erupt with goosebumps.

"Yes, do you have scars too?" Rose says, blushing.

 Connor laughs in response "Yes, you'd be surprised how many scars you will get when you spend five years running around with a bow and arrows trying to hunt down criminals in a glorified Robin Hood costume."

Rose gives a soft chuckle as Connor looks down at her ribs to notice a large open gash. He steps away from Rose, taking a closer look her ribs and sees how the gash continues up her back to her spine. He grabs needle, thread, and the bottle of whiskey.

She sits back down on floor and watches Connor sit down next to her, taking a large drink of whiskey before handing over the bottle. "Here, we're going need this because I need to do stiches and they're gonna hurt. So I suggest we drink until my aim improves. Don't ask how I discovered this, all you need to know is my focus improves when I'm drunk."

Rose chuckles bringing the bottle to her lips to drink before passing the bottle over Connor. They pass the bottle back and fourth in silence, content to spend an eternity in each other's company with the bottle, until Connor speaks up. "Rose, who hurt you? Who did this to you?" He asks as he pierces her skin with the needle and begins to stich her gash.

Rose takes a moment to finish the whiskey. "I did." Rose composes herself before continuing, "I hurt myself as a big 'fuck you' to my father. When I was younger, I used to hear horror stories from my oldest brother about my father's abuse. Grant came home one night after failing to kill his target, he barely walked into the house before the argument began. I could hear the yelling from my room as I was trying desperately to sleep, eventually they came to blows."

"When I came downstairs in the morning, I found Grant sitting at the kitchen table bloody and beaten, refusing help from anyone. I was finally able to convince him to let me help him. When I asked him about his injuries he told me that it was 'father's way of teaching lessons.' From that day forward, I promised myself I would never fail. I suffered through years of training and abuse from my father, but I never faltered, never failed."

"After Grant died, Slade became more cold and distant than ever before, I got this tattoo the day I took up the Ravager mantle to honor his memory. Rose says, pointing out the tattoo on her shoulder blade that reads like a tombstone.

Grant Wilson

1990-2009

'A good son'

"Maybe if I took up the Ravager mantle I could make my father proud to make him care. But last night I failed, I failed to get that Mother Box, I failed to kill you because I didn't want to kill my friend. I expected my father to be angry with me, to scream and beat me, but he didn't care. So I did this to myself, this is what I deserve." 

Connor looks at Rose in complete shock. "I'm sorry, If I had k-" He says in a flustered manner before being cut off when Rose places two gentle fingers on his lips.

"I don't care. It's not your fault, Connor. You're here now." Rose says calmly, placing a hand on his cheek in an effort to calm him down, then She glances down to notice the gash has been stitched and bandaged before looking up Connor like she doesn't want this closeness to end. "You're done?"

Connor glances down at Rose's gash, then looks back at her in the same way she is looking at him. "I'm done, another scar for the collection."

"Thank you." Rose says in whisper, kissing his cheek gently until they begin to no longer resist the magnetic pull between them as Connor kisses her lips gently at first before she pulls him in closer, making their kisses more ferocious and intense in the process. Rose gently pushes Connor to the floor and climbs on top of him, then Connor leans in and kisses her neck. He moves his hands up Rose's back where he accidentally touches her fresh bandages, causing Rose to wince in pain, which causes them to separate and look at each other as the realization of what they're doing slowly hits them.

They quickly jump away from each other, standing to their feet and looking at the other in shock, but Rose is the first to speak to try and make sense of the situation. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?"

"I... I'm sorry uh, I think we got a little caught up in the moment, that's all. I... I would never do something to make you feel uncomfortable or jeopardize our friendship. We're just drunk that all! We shouldn't be doing this!" Connor says flustered while making wild gestures with his arms.

Rose simply nods in agreement, but she is just as flustered as Connor.

They're both silent for a long time, actively trying to avoid eye contact with each other, Connor is staring down his shoes, quietly begging for the sweet release of death to take him while Rose leans against the paper towel dispenser and thinking about how good the kissing was and comes to conclusion that her 'friendship' with Connor ended when they entered the bathroom, maybe even before that. This is something more, something real, something better, so she decides to go for it.

Rose walks toward Connor, places a hand under his chin and gently moving his head up until his eyes meet hers before Rose leans in and presses a kiss to his lips. "Then how come we're about to." She says, her lips smirking against his.

"Fuck it." Connor says, coming to the same conclusion as Rose by returning a kiss before picking her up, Rose chuckles as wraps her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. She distracts him with a deep, passionate kiss as she pins him against the wall, he returns the favor by sucking her neck. It's not long before they remove each other's clothes. The next thirty minutes pass by in a blur as Connor and Rose are lying together in loving blissfully, using discarded pieces of clothing as blankets to cover themselves.

Rose lifts her head from Connor's chest to notice him completely captivated by her beauty, causing her to blush and bury her head in his chest again before he can see how embarrassed she is. She stays this way for a long time, simply listening to Connor's heartbeat calm down. "Well, that was... something." He says, trying to get breath back.

"I know, safe to say we're no longer friends after that." Rose says, rising her head to look at Connor before they smile at one another.

"Ah it's okay, you always were a bad influence on me." Connor says, pressing a kiss to her hair.

"Hey! I pulled that fire alarm to get your ass out of a math test, just like you asked." Rose says in defense, playfully slapping Connor's face before he leans in to kiss her. When their lips separate, the two lovebirds press their forehead together. "Why did you ask me to prom?"

Connor takes a moment to ponder a complicated answer to a simple question. "Because like or not I think we need each other. I'm lonely and you're lonely too, at least now we can alone together."

Rose can't help but smile as she feels Connor sit up beside her and grabs his phone to notice the time. "Uh Rose, prom doesn't end until 11. We could still go out there and dance like idiots."

Rose sits up to meet his gaze. "I would... like that, but I've to catch a flight to Paris tonight. I'm going to be gone few weeks on assassination assignments. I was kind of hoping you could take me to airport?" 

Connor looks at her bewildered. "So let me this straight, you came here tonight and helped me drink our friendship away, not gonna lie that was fun, right before we slept together and now you just spring on me that you're leaving for weeks before we've had a chance to talk about this and you expect me to drive you to the airport!?"

Rose nods sheepishly with an expression to match.

"Some friend you are... what time is your flight?"

"10:30 pm." Rose smiles, knowing she won their first argument.

Connor looks down at his phone. "Rose, that's in an hour."

Rose's eyes go wide, "GRAB YOUR CHOTLES!"

For some, prom is a night to remember, but Connor and Rose are too busy sprinting down the hallway in their underwear to notice or remember other students looking at them in horror and amazement. Rose laughs wildly while holding their clothes, glancing  behind them to notice they're being chased down by a very angry security guard as they burst through the front doors of the school then take moment to catch their breaths before Connor takes her hand and races toward the car.

He sides across the hood, taking out the keys to unlock the car and stepping inside. He leans over to open the passenger door for Rose, who quickly steps inside and tosses her backpack and the in the back. She barely has time close the door before Connor peels out of the parking lot, racing towards the airport.

"I can't believe we just did that!" She says, laughing in excitement

"I know, hopefully people will think it's some sort of a senior prank." Connor says, trying to focus on the road through tears of mirth.

"If I get in trouble again because of you, I'm gonna kill you." Rose says with mock sternness, grabbing the clothes from the backseat before she playfully throws a shirt at Connor.

"It wouldn't be the first time." He says, accompanied by a love struck smirk.

* * *

Connor finds a spot in airport parking lot for he and Rose hop out and dress themselves quickly before prying eyes can stare for too long, then he reaches in and pulls Rose's backpack out of the car and hands it to her without much eye contact.They both feel the unspoken tension and the possibility of something more between them until Connor gathers the courage to speak. "Rose, we need to talk about this." 

"I know, but I need go. I don't know if I'll have the opportunity to call you over there, so we'll talk about whatever 'this' is between us when I get back." Rose says, moving a finger back and forth between herself and Connor.

"But until then, I'll leave you with this." She pulls him in close for one last deep kiss.

Rose is the first to pull away. "Take care of yourself, pretty boy." She says, slowly and begrudgingly letting go of Connor's hand.

"You too." He says softly without realizing how fucked up in love he truly is.

"Don't I always." Rose says with a chuckle before turning and walking into the airport.

Connor turns back toward the car, quickly getting in and closing the door behind him. He stirs in his seat for a moment, knowing he has unfinished business. Upon taking his keys, he stares at them in intense thought as if they will provide the answers he needs, then he quickly shoves them back in his pocket when knowing what must be done.

"Screw it, I'm getting Cinnabon."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for checking this out. I really hope you enjoyed reading it. Find me on Tumblr at hands127-blog. You guy's constructive criticisms and comments are always appreciated.  
> Thank you.


	2. Ran Off In The Night.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose comes back into Connor's life with news that change their lives forever. As the war between the rival families escalates beyond the breaking point with innocents caught in the crossfire. Now Rose and Connor have to deal with consequences of their actions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I just wanted to say thank you for checking out this series. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I find that writing this series is a form of bizarre therapy to relax me and finally get my ideas out there and share them with you all.  
> This chapter will be darker than the last one, the axe will drop, just be prepared for sad ending. I also put some easter eggs in this chapter because I'm a huge comic book nerd with no self control, see if you can spot them all.  
> The title is taken from the Echosmith song of the same name.
> 
> If any of you want to reach me, you can do so on Tumblr at HANDS127-BLOG. Your comments are appreciated and helpful.
> 
> As always thanks for reading

* * *

Five weeks later.

Connor is in a deep sleep, having a reoccurring dream about teaming up with Wonder Woman and Captain Kirk aboard the USS Enterprise to stop the Teletubbies invasion of Earth, when he is awoken by a sudden commotion, causing him to up and instinctively cover his bare chest with the blankets, his eyes dart around the room expecting someone to jump out and embarrass him until he realizes that his phone is ringing, the song playing is Paris by The Chainsmokers, which he instantly knows as Rose's ringtone.

He grabs the phone from the nightstand, lays back sideways and presses the answer button before laying the phone on his ear deciding he's too tired to use effort anymore, closing his eyes and silently praying that Rose won't drag him out of bed at this ungodly hour.

"Rose, do you have any idea what time it is?" He asks groggily.

"Connor, are you okay?" Rose asks, her voice thick with worry.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you okay?"

Rose is quiet for a second before answering. "No." Her voice shaking as if she's on verge of tears. "No I'm not okay. Can we meet? I need to talk with you urgently."

Connor sighs, glancing over at the alarm clock on his nightstand to see that it is 1:12 A.M. He doesn't want to leave his comfortable bed, but it's Rose and he will do anything for her. "Alright, where?" He asks before pulling the blankets away and swinging his legs out of bed. 

"The all night Big Belly Burger on 1st and Adams, on the outskirts of the city." Rose answers quickly.

"Be there in 15, just sit tight."

"Please hurry and be careful." Rose says quietly before abruptly ending the call.

Connor sits on his bed, utterly perplexed to what he agreed to do. He takes a moment to chuckle at Rose's contact picture taken at last year's Titans Christmas party. A selfie of the two of them under the mistletoe, Connor kissing Rose's cheek as she gives the camera a cute, disgusted look. What the picture doesn't show is what happened five seconds after when Rose punched Connor so hard that he was knocked out for over an hour.

He walks over to the closet grabbing, jeans and an old t-shirt and slipping them on along his shoes. He quickly grabs his phone, wallet and his leather jacket, putting it on as he leaves the room. He manages to sneak down to the family garage where he finds his mother's Harley Davidson Softail Breakout motorcycle. Deciding that a bike would be quieter than a car, he grabs the keys and a helmet because he only needs his mother chastising him about one thing.

He reaches down, takes the kickstand off before walking the bike out of the garage quietly. Once he's a safe distance away, he gets on the bike and puts the keys in the ignition, he slips the helmet on and slides the faceplate down, he turns the headlight on before going off to meet Rose. Once Connor pulls into the Big Belly Burger parking lot, he takes the keys from the ignition and removing his helmet and shaking his hair loose. He immediately spots Rose in Ravager gear with a backpack on, standing off by herself. She races over to him with a worried look her in eyes. "Is this all you brought with you?"

"Yes." Connor says, looking down at clothes, confused as to what she could want to know about his perfectly normal clothes.

"Never mind. We can pick up more clothes on our way out of town, but we need to leave right now!" Rose says, clearly scared, taking Connor's hand trying to lead him away.

Connor doesn't move and pulls Rose back to face him, holding her tightly in his arms and trying to calm her down when she begins shaking nervously. "What are you talking about? I'm not going anywhere until you tell what's wrong? Why did you call me here?"

"I'LL EXPLAIN ON THE WAY, I PROMISE. JUST LEAVE WITH ME!" Rose shouts back him before she cries and pounds on his chest, just wanting to leave this fucked up world behind with him.

"Rose you're shaking... what happened?" Connor presses a gentle kiss to her hair. Rose slowly raises her head from his chest and sniffs away her tears as she looks into Connor's eyes.

"Connor, I'm pregnant!"

* * *

Cheese fries.

Connor is looking down at a plate of cheese fries in shock, not by the cheese fries themselves, but hoping they will help make sense of the unbelievable situation he's in right now. Rose is sitting across from him at the table, waiting patiently for him to process everything and say something. She reaches over to the plate for a fry, but stops when Connor speaks up.

"Y-you're pregnant! How l-long?"

"Four weeks." Rose says, settling back in her chair.

"Are you sure?" 

In response to the question, Rose pulls a positive pregnancy test out of her pocket and sets on the table for Connor to see. He looks down at it in complete disbelief before looking back up at Rose. "Are you absolutely certain?"

Rose pulls another positive pregnancy test out of her other pocket and places it next to the first one. "We can keep going because I have eight more in my backpack just like these two." She jokes.

"So, you and I are going to be parents... together?" Connor asks, still trying to get a grip on the situation.

"Apparently so." Rose says, looking down at the pregnancy tests on the table, still trying to believe it herself.

"But I thought we used protection?"

"We did. But these things can happen. Didn't you see the Friends episode about this?"

Connor seems to come back to his senses. "What are we going to do? What do you want to do? I mean there are alternative ways to-"

"No, okay no. I've taken too many lives without reason or remorse that I no longer feel anything. I've killed men and women, I've killed children, Connor. This life, the life of m-my baby has to mean something to me. I want to do this. I just hope you're by my side." Rose can't help it when a small smile comes across her face at the prospect of a baby.

Connor notices her smile and reaches out to gently grips Rose's shaky hand, smiling back her. "Okay." He says simply

"Okay?" Rose asks, unsure if he means it.

"Yes of course. I've got nothing better to do on a Tuesday night, might as well run away with my girlfriend." Connor jokes. 

Rose goes to slap him before Connor quickly grabs her wrist. "Kidding, I was kidding!" He says, letting go of her. "I'm with you all the way, but what's our next move? Have you told anyone else?"

"No, that's why need leave town tonight. Once my father finds out, he will come after us with the full force of his militia by his side. He won't stop until you're dead." 

"Well, that sounds exciting." He jokes.

Rose stands from the table with an uneasy expression. "I know you may not want to leave your life now, especially since we've graduated. But I am asking you to trust me now." Rose says shakily, hyperventilating through her words.

Connor stands from the table, taking a step toward Rose and gently cups her face in his hands to calm her down while looking her in the eyes. "I'll leave with you tonight."

Rose gives chuckles in disbelief, looking for the truth in Connor's eyes. "Really?"

Connor nods in response. "Like you said, I graduated and now there's nothing keeping me in Star City anymore. My family doesn't need me anymore. My sister has my parents to look after her, we can leave town before the sun rises."

"Then, are we gonna do this?" Rose presses her forehead against Connor's

"Yes, are you scared?" He asks quietly

"Yes, are you?" She whispers back.

''Terrified!" Connor says with a small chuckle and and a hopeful smile.

They both lean to kiss each other, but are interrupted when Connor's phone rings. He pulls it out and is about to press the ignore button, but quickly answers it when he realizes that Olivia is calling and steps away to take the call privately.

"Connor, there are people with guns in the house!" Olivia yells on the other line.

"What?!"

"Mom and dad are being held at gunpoint." Olivia says, peeking an eye out of the door just enough to see Oliver and Dinah on their knees with handguns pressed against their heads. She closes the door leaning on it before sliding down to the floor and running her fingers through her hair. "Connor, I'm scared. What do I do?"

"NOTHING, nothing, are you in your room?"

"Yes, I don't think they've seen me." Olivia cries through the tears.

"Good, good. I need you to be as quiet as possible, open your window and wait for me. I'm coming home right now. Just stay calm!"

Rose barely has time to react when she sees Connor drops his phone on the floor and burst the front of the restaurant, sprinting towards his motorcycle. She quickly lays money on the table and runs after him.

"I WAS WRONG! I WAS SO FUCKING WRONG!" Connor shouts, mounting the motorcycle and putting the keys in the ignition. 

"What happened?!" Rose demands, catching up to Connor

But Connor doesn't look at her, feeling his world begining to crash down. "My parents, m-my sister. I ha-have to go home."

"You know it's a trap, right?"

"I know and I don't care. Are you coming with me or not?" Connor stares at Rose, angrily. She hesitates, still wanting to leave, but she gets on the back of bike behind him as Connor slips on the helmet. Rose interlocks her hands around his stomach and lays her head on his back, feeling safe with him as he speeds towards his house. When they reach the house, the bike skids to a stop in the driveway and they dismount, Connor throws his helmet away and runs off to his sister's room before Rose grips his hand and pulls him back to face her.

"Connor breathe... do you have a plan?" Rose asks calmly, her grip tightening as he tries to escape.

Connor looks down his hands interlocked with Rose's, his anger dissipates before he looks over at the garage. "Rose, do you how to hotwire a car?" They take a moment to come up with a plan while avoiding the militia soldiers circling the Queen house looking for them.

Olivia silently paces her bedroom as Connor climbs through the window, his feet barely touch the ground before Olivia runs over to hug him. "Olivia, are you alright? I was so worried." Connor whispers as they separate, holding her face in his hands with a look of concern.

"Yeah, they haven't seen me. Connor, what are we going to do?" Olivia asks in a whisper.

"Olivia, I know you're scared, but right now I need you to climb out the window and meet my friend,l Rose who is in a car in the driveway. Once you get inside, lock the doors and wait for me to come with mom and dad. She will protect you."

"What are you going to do?" Olivia asks in a scared whisper.

"I'm going to fix this." Connor is shaking as he opens the door a peek, just enough to see his mother at gunpoint. Dinah looks back at Connor, shaking her head before mouthing 'no' to try stop his course of action.

Before he can react, the door is yanked opened and Connor is struck in the face with the stock of an assault rifle. Slade Wilson looks down at Connor with rage in his eye before knocking him out.

* * *

Connor wakes with a sharp pain as something is injected into his neck. He opens his eyes slowly, taking in his surroundings. He is on his knees with his hands tied behind his back. H looks around to notice his family members has gotten the same treatment as him, Oliver and Dinah are facing Connor with Olivia to his right. He curses under his breath when he realizing Olivia has been dragged into his mistake.

He begins working out a way of the zip ties, but stops when boots stomps that echo like thunder as Deathstroke comes into the room. Slade takes off his helmet and slams it down on the table before walking over to Connor and takes out his sidearm pistol to presses it against his head. Dinah and Olivia scream in terror while Oliver tries to calm the situation.

"SLADE!"

"Slade, whatever this is, it began with the three us. That's the way this war has to end, just let my children go, please." Oliver pleads in desperation with tears running down his face.

Slade turns his head to Oliver, the gun still pressed against Connor's head. "Oh, I wish it was that simple Ollie, but your boy and my daughter have been spend a considerable amount of time together and..." Slade trails off, turning his attention back to Connor.

"CONNOR! WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Dinah yells at her son.

Slade kneels beside Connor and speaks with a calm, hiding the storm of rage in his eye. "Go on, tell the class what you've done."

Connor hangs his head in shame. "Rose is pregnant." He says in a hushed tone, but loud enough for everyone to hear.

Oliver, Dinah, and Olivia all look at Connor shock, they all knew Connor and Rose were close, but this is too fast. Everyone is silent before Dinah speaks up. "ENOUGH! I am going to end this!" She says, preparing her Canary Cry, but is surprised when nothing happens.

Slade turns toward Dinah, laughing. "That device I injected into your necks deactivates all Metahuman abilities for one hour, just enough time to teach your boy a lesson."

Connor breaks out of his restraints while Slade is distracted by talking to Dinah. He tackles Slade onto his back and punches his face with all of strength, Slade looks back at He with a sadistic grin. Connor is briefly distracted by this causing Slade to get the upper hand and pistol whip him so hard that flies back landing on his stomach.

Before Connor can get up, Slade stands over him, pushing a boot into his back holding him to the floor. Slade leans in and presses the gun against his cheek. "Connor, I'm going to ask this once. WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?!"

Connor looks back at Slade with a smile, blood trickling from his nose. "Have you tried looking for her? maybe turning your head, I bet only having one eye really limits your perception."

Slade laughs in disbelief, his foot pushing down harder as he cocks the gun. And with that sound, Connor closes his eyes and tries to quiet his mind from his family screaming their pleas for Slade to stop, his last thought is of Rose as he knows what is about to happen.

"I'm here."

Connor feels a relief of pressure as Slade steps off of him and pulls the gun from his face. He quickly turns over to his back and sits up, his eyes go wide in shock when he sees Rose standing in the doorway followed by two militia soldiers.

"I'm right here, you don't need hurt anyone." Rose says angrily at her father, her voice thick with emotion. Slade looks at Rose with anger in his eye before looking at Connor, who is back on his knees next to Olivia.

"You see, Connor, was so hard? I think you deserve a reward. I am going to teach that lesson to you." Slade says before nodding at the two militia soldiers who stand behind Oliver and Dinah.

"It's time for you to learn that sacrifice is necessary."

Connor pulls Olivia in close to his chest, trying to shield her from what is coming because Oliver was right, she is innocent and doesn't deserve this. Olivia screams to be let go so she can help, which only makes Connor hold her tighter. Connor turns to his parents. Oliver looks over at Dinah with sadness in his eyes as he takes her hand in his before Dinah speaks. "You kids look after each other. We love you, so much." She says calmly, guns cocking behind her.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Connor says, tears begin to fall down his face before closing his eyes and burying his head in Olivia's back.

Rose turns her back, refusing to watch this any further.

The only thing that silences Olivia's defying screams is the sound of two gunshots.

* * *

Connor is numb. Numb to everything around him, to his sister crying and thrashing against his chest as she begs to be let out of his tight hold around her. Numb as Slade heads to front door to leave with Rose following behind. He can only focus on his parents now lifeless bodies, watching in shock and horror as blood pours from their heads.

Slade is about to step through the door but turns his head when he hears Connor speak up. "I am going to kill you." He says with certainty through the tears.

Slade only chuckles before turning to one of the men to give him an order. "Burn the house down." He says coldly, stepping out into the night.

Connor barely registers what was just said, he would die with parents if that means this night will end. Rose is about leave, but hesitates, turning to Connor with remorse and sadness in her eyes. He doesn't look up at her, still concerned with comforting his grieving sister as men pour gasoline around them. He can hear punches and kicks landing in the background, but he is only taken out of grief when the body of a solider hits the floor before him with a thud.

"Connor..." 

He looks up to see Rose kneeling down in front of him with a out stretched hand as the room burns around them. He looks at her in anger with tears in eyes. "Why should I trust you?" Connor asks through gritted teeth.

"You shouldn't, but right now we need get your sister to safety." 

Connor looks down at Olivia still in his arms and notices that she has passed out due to shock. He carefully stands to his feet, an arm still wrapped around Olivia before he readjust, placing one arm under her shoulders and the other under her knees.

"Is there another way out of this place?" Rose asks, looking at Connor.

"The back, through the kitchen." Connor says pushing down his feelings and focusing on the task at hand.

When they reach the kitchen, Connor gently lays Olivia against a fridge before taking cover behind the fridge himself with Rose takes cover across from him, the hiding behind counter. 

Connor peeks out and notices a militia soldier leaving a trail of gasoline as he walks away.  He throws away the empty canister before turning around to light a match but is distracted when he sees something move behind the fridge. He hides behind the fridge, but it's too late, he has been spotted and he has to act because the man is blocking the exit. The soldier pulls his handgun and begins to walk down to narrow passage between the stove and counter.

Connor closes his eyes and takes a moment to come with up a plan as the solider stops at the fridge.

Time's up. he jumps outs and the solider's eyes go wide as he raises his gun, Connor grabs the gun and forces it upward causing the bullet to fire into the ceiling then he punches the solider to deodorant him before kicking at his knees, causing them give out under him. Lastly, he grabs the solider's head and slams it into the granite countertop, cracking on impact.

Rose watches in shock because she has never seen him act with such rage and ferocity. Connor picks the gun off the floor, quickly releasing the clip inside to see that the gun has ten bullets left. He shoves the clip back inside and cocks the gun before putting it in the waistband of his pants behind him.

Connor scoops Olivia in his arms. "Let's go." He says coldly,  making his way to the exit, Rose nods in shock as she gets up from a crouched position and follows him.

"Where's the car?" Connor asks, running to driveway.

"There!" Rose says, running up beside Connor and pointing to a black SUV.

When they reach the car, Rose opens the door to the backseat and Connor lays Olivia down before closing the door and running over to driver side as Rose tosses the keys at him.They barely have time to start the car when they're met with muffled sound of gunfire coming behind them. Connor throws the car in reverse just as the the back window shatters when a bullet hits. Connor looks over his shoulder and aims for the person shooting at them. He jerks the steering wheel to right, turning the car around with a skid as more soldiers shoot at them through the windshield

"Put your seatbelt on, Rose." Connor says in a quiet rage, reving the engine.

Rose quickly reaches behind her and grabs a seatbelt, clicking into place over Olivia before turning around and clicking her own into place. Connor presses the accelerator pedal to floor, running over the two guards that stand in the way before crashing through the front gates of his family home, leaving as it burns.

Rose turns around and notices that Olivia is still asleep before looking out the window. "They're not following."

"Do you know where we're going?" Rose asks, looking at the anger clearly on his face as they speed down the street.

Connor stares straight ahead, his hands tighten on the steering wheel. "Somewhere safe."

* * *

They've been driving around for hours and Connor can feel the fatigue start to set in his bones. He rubs the sand from his eyes as the sun peeks out over the horizon and the Space Needle in background. He looks over to see Rose slumped against the window fast asleep, he looks in rear view mirror to see his sister is asleep,  occasionally stirring in her seat and mumbling 'mama' or 'papa' and Connor knows she is having a nightmare. He slows the car before parking it on a side street in front of a flower shop.

 Rose slowly wakes up, blinks away the sleep from her eyes. "Where are we?" Rose asks, looking up at a building that looks like a medieval castle. She steps out the car, glancing at a hanging wooden sign that reads 'Sherwood Flouriest' written in Blackwater font.

"My old home." Connor says, stepping out of car before grabbing a sleeping Olivia from the backseat and meets Rose standing on the sidewalk. "This is the only place I could think to bring us, we should be safe here."

He reaches in his pocket for his keys, quickly flicking through them, looking for right one to unlock the front door. He walks through the door of the darkened building, immediately going the second floor as Rose follows, noticing the dust covering every surface. While the first floor is a closed flower shop, the second floor is set up like a small apartment and living space.

Olivia's body tenses up in Connor arms as he enters a small bedroom until he gently lays her down on the bed and covers her with blankets and slips a pillow under her head. He turns out to leave before Olivia says something in her sleep.

"Mama, please don't leave me." She mumbles while moving restlessly in the bed. Connor turns back around and walks toward her, looking at her with sad eyes as he pulls up a chair and sits down at Olivia's bedside. He reaches out and takes Olivia's hand in his as a comfort and her body relaxes once he does. He stays with her until she calms down. Connor takes a moment to look around the room, the walls are painted hot pink but you wouldn't know that at first glance because they're covered by child's drawings carelessly colored with crayons. He looks at Olivia with and fond smile, remembering she always had trouble staying within the lines.

"Be good." Connor gives Olivia's hand one last squeeze before letting go slowly, he gets up from the chair and walks to exit and quietly closes the door behind him.

He grabs the gun from his waistband of his pants and holds it down at his side while Rose sits at the dining table with her head in her hands, she quickly stands to feet when Connor walks down the hallway toward her. "Connor, what are we goi-" Rose is cut off when Connor presses a gun to her head. She doesn't flinch, she doesn't step back. She raises her hands in surrender and tries her best to defuse the tense situation. "Connor..." 

"Did you know?" He asks in a quiet rage.

"No, I didn't know okay, I didn't know." Rose says in a whisper.

"Was any of it true? Any of the things you told me tonight? ANY OF IT!" Connor yells at Rose, tears streaming down his face, pressing the gun against her head harder.

"All of it. I have never lied to you, ever. I am pregnant and you are the father, that is true."

"Did you even care about our friendship? Did you ever care about me as I care about you."

"Yes." Rose states simply, pushing down her happy memories of love with Connor while trying to remain calm.

Rose takes a deep breath as the gun shakes in Connor's hand. He steps back and removes the gun from her head, but doesn't lower the gun. Connor closes his eyes as his lip quivers before he clicks the safety on and drops the gun to the floor.

Rose bends down with her hands on her knees to breathe, looking at Connor heading to the exit. "Connor, where are you going? We need to talk about this baby thing."

"Why?!" Connor asks angrily, continuing to walk toward the exit. 

"Because, I'm scared! And I know you are too!" Rose shouts back at Connor, trying to hold back tears.

"I'm going for a walk."

"What?" Rose shouts in anger.

"I'm going for a walk. I can't be around you right now, otherwise I'll do something I will regret."

"Okay...will you be back?" Rose relents, crossing her arms.

Connor doesn't answer her, refusing to acknowledge her existence as he walks through the door leaving her behind. She gets the answer to her question a few minutes later when hearing a car engine turn over before Connor escapes into the night.

Rose collapses on the ground, no longer able to hold the guilt of this night on her shoulders. Holding her head in her hands, she can feel tears steam down her face as she confronted by an all too familiar pain. The pain of abandonment, Grant, Slade and now Connor. Every person she has ever loved has left her...

Scared and alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it. It's 4:30 in the morning where I am, so I'm going bed.
> 
> Thank you so much.


	3. Stone.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that Rose and Olivia are stuck together under less than favorable circumstances secrets will revealed that push them to their limits. Can they learn to trust each other? Can they learn to love each other?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone,  
> I just wanted every thank person who checks out this series, it really means a lot to me see all the hits and I hope you guys are enjoying it.  
> This chapter will be different than the previous ones, focusing on building a relationship between Rose and Olivia. This chapter has less of a narrative, it's really more of a character piece. Warning chapter will deal with depression, panic attacks and talking someone down, I just wanted to give you all a heads up.  
> You know to reach me on Tumblr at Hands127-blog.
> 
> The title is from the song by Jaymes Young.

* * *

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Rose slowly lifts her head from her hands and looks at Olivia standing in front of her with the gun pointed at her head. "What the hell are you doing here?" She repeats with an angry expression dominating her face.

Rose takes a moment to ponder the question before shaking her head, unable to come with an good answer. "I don't know." She says tiredly, rising from her chair and walking past Olivia to the spare bedroom before she stopped by her.

"Get out! I don't want you here!" Olivia yells, grabbing Rose's arm and shoving her harshly to the exit.

"I don't have anywhere else to go." Rose says sadly.

"Look if you're gonna shoot me then shoot me, but you might want to click the safety off. Could you at least wait until I'm done with my nap? I'm pregnant and tired, but you do what you want." Rose says, turning back to Olivia.

Olivia fumbles with the gun, clicking the safety off with the full intention of shooting her, but she can't bring herself to do it. She's still a good person, she's not a killer even when face to face with the destroyer of her entire world, so Olivia drops the gun to the floor.

"Where's Connor?"

Rose tenses up at Olivia's words, taking a moment to compose herself before answering. "He's gone." She says, hiding the anger behind her eyes with sadness.

"What do you m-"

"I MEAN GONE! NOT COMING BACK!" Rose snaps causing Olivia to step back in fear before walking over the stairs, looking down at the flower shop on the first floor. The house is empty, a sad wave of realization slowly hits her before the sadness turns to anger.   

Olivia walks over Rose, giving a left hook to her jaw. "YOU TOOK MY FAMILY FROM ME!! I HATE YOU!"

Rose stumbles back and feels anger swell in her chest, but she doesn't fight back. She simply wipes away the blood coming her mouth before looking up at Olivia. "That's okay, I'm not too fond of myself." She says, breathlessly.

"What are we to each other now?" Olivia asks.

"I don't know. I guess I'm supposed to look after you now." Rose says sincerely, giving a weak smile. 

Olivia scoffs in disbelief. "Yeah, sure that'll be fun, we'll be one big happy dysfunctional family." Olivia says sarcastically. "This is not a family! This is not a happy home! it's a joke."

Rose's smile turns to a frown. "Look, we don't have to like each other, we don't even have to interact. You stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours."

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

And Rose means it. She really does, but Olivia's nightmares are getting worse. Olivia's screams have been echoing through out the house every night for the past month. She is clearly in pain. A pain that Rose can help her work through, every time Olivia has nightmare she comes running to trying to help her and finds the bedroom door locked with Olivia refusing to let anyone in. Rose doesn't force her way in, she simply sits against the other side of door and listens to Olivia cry herself to sleep.

One thought runs through her mind, she repeats something Grant had said to her when she was sad and closed off.  
  
"I can help you if you just let me in."

"I can help you."

* * *

 She's burning.

There is fire and smoke all around her, but Olivia doesn't care. She is only concerned with saving her parents as the house collapses around them. Smoke causes tears to fall from her eyes, when she tries to reach out for parents the chains the hold her to the floor only tighten. She manages to work her way out one of the chains and reaches for Dinah's hand, she can almost reach her, she can almost reach the safety of her mother's arms as the guns cock behind them.

"Mama, papa. Please don't leave me." Olivia shouts through the tears.

"We love you, pretty bird." Dinah says calmly.

"NO! Don't say goodbye. I can save you!" Olivia coughs out, suffocating on smoke.

Oliver and Dinah smile at her before Oliver goes to say something, but Olivia is only met with the echoing sound of gunshots.

Gunshots over and over.

Olivia's eyes snaps open and sits up in in bed trying to catch her breath, a layer of cold sweat covers her body as the sound of gunshots fade into the sound of knocking at her door. 

"Olivia..."

"GO AWAY!" Olivia shouts through the door at Rose.

"Olivia, you just had another nightmare. I have nightmares too, so I know the pain you're feeling, I've felt that pain before.  No one was there for me when my nightmares began, but I can you help you if you just let me in." Rose says softly through the door 

"I SAID, GO AWAY!!!" Olivia yells, throwing a pillow at the door, trying to Rose ward off. She knows she has been successful when hearing foot steps recede from the door after a moment. She throws off the covers and wipes the sweat from her face with a hand before standing from the bed and walking over the door to quickly unlock the door and open it to have a peek out. She closes it just as fast when spotting Rose walking back in her direction with a plate of food. 

"Olivia, I know you didn't eat anything for dinner, so I made some toast with chocolate spread, if you're hungry." Rose sets the plate on floor.

Olivia sits against the other side of the door as her stomach grumbles. The door opens suddenly. They stare at each other in silence, Rose quickly raises her hands in surrender and Olivia gives her a glare before slowly taking the plate inside and closing the door on her. "What do you want? Why do you care so much?" Olivia says, taking a bite.

"I just want to talk. I've had nightmares like this before, I want to help you get through the pain you're feeling." Rose states her terms simply, trying very hard not remember her own nightmares.

"You sound like my brother." Olivia says with a sad chuckle.

Rose's eyes go wide as she realizes she does sound like Connor. "I'm sorry that wasn't my intention!"

"That's okay. He's always rubbed off on people, he has that effect."

The two of them sit against the door letting the silence go on for too long with only the sound of Olivia occasionally munching on toast, until she speaks up. "Rose... what are your nightmares about?" She asks, hesitantly.

Rose sighs before answering, closing her eyes to stop the tears. "The people I've hurt, the horrible things I've done, the people who have left me behind... especially my brother. it's been years since he died, but I still don't have closure and I fear never will."

Olivia takes a deep breath and slowly relents. "I -I was in the fire again. I couldn't breathe as smoke filled my lungs. My parents were in front me. I tried to reach out, I tried to save to them, but I was too late... again." Olivia says, trying to hold back tears that are already steaming down her face.

"I'm sor-" Rose tries to apologize, but is cut off.

"You don't need to apologize, just answer me this. Do the nightmares ever stop?"

"No." Rose answers sadly. "No, but it's helps to have someone to talk to, I was too proud to tell Connor, but he knew and never said anything out of respect of our friendship. That's why I felt comfortable with him... maybe I got too comfortable" She says with a chuckle, touching her growing belly.

 Olivia hears her chuckle through the door and smiles happily. "How's that going by the way?"

"Good, the baby growing everyday. I have another appointment with the doctor in few weeks and the crib came in the mail, so I have to put that together tomorrow."

"Have fun with that." Olivia says with a sarcastic chuckle.

"Thanks." Rose pouts playfully. 

A few moments later Rose can hear Olivia yawn through the door. It takes her more time to stand to her feet, it's not as easy as it was two months ago.  

"Olivia, I'm going to bed. I hope you'll do the same." Rose says, walking away from the door before she stopped by the door opening and closing quickly, Olivia has set the empty plate out. Rose approaches the door slowly and takes the plate away before Olivia speaks quietly.

"Rose... thank you."

"Anytime, kid." 

* * *

"Y'know you don't have to do this today. I can still call you out of school."

Olivia doesn't hear Rose's word, instead she's preoccupied with the news report on the T.V.

"I am standing outside the remains of the Queen mansion where the fire and rescue crew has just found the bodies of Oliver Jonas Queen and Dinah Laurel Lance Queen." Olivia closes her eyes, trying to hold back tears as image of Oliver and Dinah appears on screen, while Rose notices the distress on Olivia's face as the report continues.

"They are now confirmed to have died in the fire that destroyed the mansion one month ago. Fire and rescue still do not know the whereabouts of their children, William "Connor" Queen and Olivia Deardan Queen. They are both presumed to b-" Olivia is shocked when the T.V. is shut off in the middle of the report, she turns in her chair to see Rose standing behind her with the remote in her hand.

"You don't need to be watching that!" She says protectively. 

Olivia stands from her chair and taking her bowl to sink before turning to face Rose. "Wait. I could still call you out of school today... if you want me to. I can drive you at least." Rose says sincerely.

"No, it's time, beside the bus will here in a few minutes. Thank you though. Olivia says, giving a polite smile before grabbing her backpack and making her way downstairs with Rose following.

"Are you sure? Like I said last night, the crib came in the mail, I could use your help." She says, placing a hand on Olivia shoulder and using the other to gesture over to huge Ikea box in the corner.

Olivia shudders away from Rose's touch, not feeling comfortable with her yet.

Rose realizes her mistake. "Right... you'd probably be bored anyway."

They stand there, look at each other as an awkward silence sets in between them. The silence is interrupted by the sound of a horn honking in the distance.

"That's the bus... I gotta go." Olivia says politely before Rose gives her a nod. She walks through the front door and down the sidewalk to the curb. She notices the yellow school bus parked on her right, waiting for her.

"Not today." She says, running off in the other direction.

Later that afternoon, Rose finds herself sitting in her bedroom trying her best to assemble the crib looking down at the picture on the Ikea box for reference completely perplexed to say the very least, quickly succumbing to her frustrations because she swears the English words on the instructions page are slowly transforming into Swedish the more she looks at them. She throws away the piece in her hands to join the other discarded pieces scattered across the room with a huff of anger, she looks down at her belly and the anger dissipates immediately.

"You better be really cute, kid." 

Rose slowly stands to her feet and rubs the tiredness from her eyes, deciding to walk away from this disastrous situation, coming to conclusion that she will ask Olivia for help when she gets home from school. The universe must have listening to her thoughts because the phone rings in her pocket, she quickly answers it when the principal at Olivia's school is on other line.

"Hello..."

"Hello Mrs. Queen, this is principal Marshall. I am calling you to speak with you about Olivia." 

"No, this is Rose Wilson. I'm Olivia's guardian. Is she in trouble " Rose asks, beginning to pace around the kitchen nervously. 

"Right... my mistake, Miss Wilson. Are you aware Olivia did not arrive to school today?" 

"Of course she did, I sent her off to school myself. Are you saying that she didn't make it?" Rose's pacing becomes more erratic and angry.

"No, I'm afraid not. I just received today's attendance report from her teachers, it appears she didn't attend any of her classes today." 

"WELL, SHE'S NOT WITH ME!" 

"In that case, I need to call the pol-" 

"DON'T BOTHER! I'LL FIND HER MYSELF!" Rose yells into the receiver before abruptly ending the call.

She quickly slips the phone back in her pocket, then grabs her jacket, keys and shoes before descending the stairs two at a time until she reaches the bottom. She just has enough time to slip on the shoes before running out the door and shutting it with a hard slam as fast as possible, completely forgetting that she is still in her pajamas.

Rose gets into the car just as a wave of fear and anxiety hits her, she has to find Olivia, she needs to find her because Connor would never forgive her if Olivia was hurt or lost... at least that's what she tells herself. The truth of the matter is, Rose has come to care for her in such a short time, all those late nights against her door she swore that wouldn't let anything or anyone hurt her family. So maybe she is more like Connor then she'd care to admit.

She channels her inner Connor once again as she throws the car in reverse before recklessly driving down the street avoiding other cars as races to Olivia. She knows there is only place that Olivia could be right now, only one place she wants to be right now.

Getting around town is pretty easy when you are Olivia Queen, not that Olivia could tell anyone who she actually was. 'I am supposed to dead' she thinks to herself, sitting on a pubic transit bus waiting for her stop as music pounds into her head through the earbuds. After a few moments of waiting, Olivia finally hears her stop announced over the loud speaker, then she presses the stop button and stands to her feet before walking to the front.

"You sure you wanna dropped off here, kid? This isn't a tourist attraction." The bus driver says with a raised eyebrow as he opens the doors. Olivia gives him a small nod while she steps off.

Olivia stands alone in silence, simply taking in her surrounds before she repeats her words. "I am supposed to be dead, well it's time for me to join the dead." She says, walking to burnt out shell of her family home.

Its easy for Olivia to slip past unnoticed the countless news reporters that are out front looking for a desperate scoop and past the fire and rescue crew that is sifting through the rubble, she is small and invisible and that's what she needs right now.

Walking through the rubble, Olivia's knees go weak with every step she takes further into the abyss. A sharp ringing in her ears begins to drown out the world around her, continuing to stumble around in a daze trying to control her shallow breaths until her foot is caught on a brick. She falls forward onto her knees, putting her hands out to soften the landing. She punches at the ground, a mixture of ash and dirt, her fist surprisingly strikes at a glass frame buried underneath causing her fist to bleed on impact.

Olivia desperately digs in the dirt, hoping for answers, but knowing she'll only find pain, until she finds it. A small shattered picture frame covered in broken pieces of glass, she wipes away the glass careful not to disturb the brunt picture inside while taking it out and tossing the wood fram away before looking a picture of her family the last time they were all in Coast City to visit Uncle Hal and his family.

Rose stops the car, almost forgetting to put the parking brake on as she jumps out and quickly makes her way through the dense crowd of news reporters as the police try to hold them back. She is very desperate to get to Olivia as she keeps pushing her way to the front of the crowd. She quickly spots Olivia and steps over the barrier, but a police officer puts a hand out to block her.

"No one is getting through this place lady, it's too dangerous."

Rose feels a desperate anger rise in her chest as she clenches her fist at her side. "Oh really, what about her? She says with a snarky tone, pointing at Olivia.

The police officer looks back at Olivia in shock, clueless as to how she was able to slip pass through such crowds completely unnoticed, his shock quickly turns anger over his own incompetence and e leans into his shoulder as he prepares to talk into the radio, but Rose stops him before he can take action. 

"No! She's here for a reason, and I doubt she'll want leave if you drag her away now. Send me to talk with her, I can convince her to leave with me on her own terms... I hope." She demands, swallowing her fear about the situation

The police officer looks at Rose with a stern expression before turning to his partner and giving her a skeptical look, but ultimately relenting and slowly lifting the yellow police tape just enough for Rose to pass underneath.  

Rose walks through the rubble, taking careful steps trying not disturb Olivia, who is sitting down in a crisscross position just a few feet in front of her.

Olivia seems to unaware of anyone around as she closes her eyes trying to remember happy memories from her childhood, but those memories seem so far away now only replaced by ash and dirt. When she opens her eyes again she is surrounded by fire and suffocating smoke with no way out, but she smiles when seeing Oliver and Dinah standing in front of her with their arms wide open, waiting for her to come home.

"Olivia..." Her eyes open in surprise when the voice calling her name isn't the voice of her father, but Rose slowly approaching her on the right. 

"Rose..." Olivia gives her a weak smile like she doesn't know where she is. "Can you see them?" She asks, almost forgetting to breathe as tears stream down her face.

Rose knows Olivia is having a panic attack and doesn't even know it. "Yeah, I-I see them, kid." She looks where Olivia was looking, only to see nothing but fire and ash. "Do you mind if I come closer? I just want to say hello."

Olivia nods in response before turning away from Rose and closes her eyes again, then Rose moves in closely behind her, but doesn't try to touch her.

She looks back at her parents as they smile at her and Dinah extends a hand out for her to take, she takes a small step forward and reaches out with shaky hands. She can almost feel the warmth of her mother's smile when they're finger tips touch and Olivia looks at her parents in horror as their bodies suddenly erupt in flames before degenerating into embers.

"Mama..." Olivia's eyes snap open and she gets up to chase after ghosts, Rose quickly reaches out and pulls her back down in her lap, hugging her tightly as she tries to keep Olivia calm and protected. "LET ME GO!! I CAN SAVE THEM, PLEASE LET ME SAVE THEM!" She thrashes violently against Rose's chest, her breathing becomes more sparse and erratic when Rose's hold tightens.

"Breathe, Olivia breathe." Rose places a hand on Olivia's cheek and uses it to guide her face until her eyes meet Rose's kind eyes. "Breathe, Just breathe. Watch me, breathe with me." She says calmly, taking deep breath in and out to show Olivia how until she matches her breathing.  

"I can save them." Olivia repeats quietly with tears streaming down her face

"I know, kid. God, I know." Rose says sadly, thinking of Grant, as she continues holding her close to the chest.

"Honor them, you can save them by honoring their memories. Lay them to rest with a funeral, get the closure I could never have. Let me help you, I will be by your side the whole time. I promise." 

Olivia nods with a small smile as Rose wipes away her tears with her thumb before Olivia buries her head back in Rose's chest, they stay in each arms, simply sitting in comfortable silence as they listen to the other breathe and exist until Olivia lifts her head from Rose's chest "Lets go home. I want to go home now, there's nothing left for me here." She says with a sad, yet fond smile of rememberence.

"Yeah kid, lets go home." Rose slowly stands to her feet with an arm still wrapped around her shoulder, Olivia leans against Rose for support as she leads her away from the land of ghosts.

Rose kept her promise and then some, she worked tirelessly to recover Oliver and Dinah's bodies and not soon after they had a quiet, proper funeral. Olivia stood in the backyard in shock unable to take her eyes away from the freshly planted graves, the graves of her parents. Rose walks up slowly behind with a small bouquet of flowers and looks at Olivia while handing them over, Olivia takes a weak step forward and kneels down, gently placing the flowers between the graves. She can't seem to find the strength to rise to her feet as if gravity suddenly became ten times stronger. Rose kneels down beside her and grips her hand before Olivia collapses into her chest, she tugs at Rose's black coat as she wails, which makes Rose hold her closer.

"Breathe kid. Just breathe, I've got you." Rose whispers into her hair.

They stay in each other's arms, even after Olivia stops crying because neither of them want to move. Olivia feels safe in Rose's arms, she feels at home in the arms of family.

Home, Olivia finally felt at home after the funeral, everything was pretty normal, well as normal as they could ever be. She visits her parent's graves every week, bringing flowers along with her from the newly renovated and reopened flower shop, then Sometime into Rose's fifth month of pregnancy, Rose and Olivia had come to a mutual respect and understanding with one another and Olivia can finally sleep peacefully now, without nightmares, without ghosts. She feels safe at home, she feels confrontable smiling again, which makes it all the more harder when the world almost comes crashing down.

* * *

 Thud.

Olivia is awoken by a loud sudden thud, her eyes snap open and quickly jerks up in bed, slowly opening and closing her eyes over and over until the dark room around her comes into focus. She considers sending Rose a text asking her to investigate the strange noise, but she makes her decision a few seconds later when hearing stomach growl. She really has to cut out these late night snack runs and start eating something of more substance before bed.

She throws the covers back and swings her legs off the bed with a tired groan, she sits on the bed for a while, liking how the soft carpet feels beneath her bare toes. She pushes off the bed, yawning as she does before sleepily stumbling over to the door. Olivia shushes the creaky door when slowly opening it, before stepping out in the darkened house.

Olivia makes her way the small house with caution, peeking out at every corner and silently cursing at herself for forgetting to bring the baseball bat in her room to use as a weapon. After a minute of jumping at shadows, she walks into the kitchen and opens the fridge looking for something to satisfy her hunger quickly so she can go back to bed.

That's when she spots someone staring at her out of the corner of eye, a pair of piercing green eyes stare at her through the darkness, which causes Olivia to turn her head as she closes the fridge door to find Rose is sitting in the corner of the room on the kitchen floor with something in her hand that Olivia can't quite make out, but she jumps back in shock when realizes the gravity of the current situation as the knife in Rose's hand shimmers in the moonlight.

Olivia stands 50 feet away from Rose, just 50 feet, but right now the space between them seems to be oceans away. She knows Rose is not in the right state of mind, Olivia also knows she has no time to call someone more equipped to handle situations like this. No, it has to be her to talk Rose down and that absolutely terrifies her    

She gulps down her fears and takes a small step toward Rose, but winces when the floor boards creak beneath her foot.

"WHO'S THERE!" Rose shouts in anger, pointing the knife in Olivia's direction, unware of her presence.  

"It's me. It's Olivia." She says calmly, raising her hands in surrender as she steps out into the light provided by the moon. 

"STAY BACK! DONT COME NEAR ME! I WON'T LET YOU HURT ME ANYMORE! " Rose yells, her eyes dart around the room as her grip tightens on the knife handle.

Olivia takes a step back to reposition her stance. "No, I wont hurt you. I won't let them hurt you. I'm your friend."

"NO, YOU'RE JUST LIKE THE REST OF THEM. YOU'RE HERE TO HURT AND LEAVE ME, ALL OF THEM DO!" Rose yells as tears stream down her face as she experiences a nightmare.

"No, No. I'm not going hurt you. I'm Olivia, I'm your friend. You can trust me, please."

"Olivia...?" Rose smiles back at Olivia for a brief second before her expression turns back to anger. "NO! THIS IS A BAD DREAM, JUST A BAD FUCKING DREAM!" She says, shaking her head. "And I know how to end this nightmare, I know how to end this pain." Rose glances down at the knife with the tip pointed at her wrists.

Olivia's eyes go wide and she takes quick, urgent steps closer to Rose while she's looking down. She crouches down in front of Rose and extends a hand out before she can look up. "This is real. This is real. Here, take my hand, feel my hand." She says with calm urgency.

Rose looks down at Olivia's hand before looking at her directly, then she slashes at her hand, but Olivia doesn't move her arm, ignoring the blood coming from the large fresh cut on her forearm. "Please... take my hand. I'm here to help." She smiles weakly, trying to hold back a whimper of pain that threatens to escape.

Rose stares back at Olivia with anger in her eyes because she realizes that she won't be going away and so she reluctantly lifts her shaky hand and slowly places it in Olivia's. Olivia gives Rose a tiny smile.

"Good, good. You are in a safe place, just concentrate on me, concentrate on my voice." Olivia says calmly, looking at Rose in the eyes. Neither of them move from their current position out of fear of what the other person might do, Olivia keeps eye contact with Rose while telling her stories about her week of adventures in school to keep her calm. 

"... And so, I was halfway through my Home Economics test when a live hamster burst out of the pie, Mrs. Meadows nearly had a heart attack. It took the four of us to wrangle the slippery hamster up, and if that wasn't bad enough the fire ala-" Olivia cuts herself off when she hears the knife clatter onto the floor.

"Olivia... what happened? How did I get here?" Rose asks in a whisper, griping Olivia's hand tightly.

"You were having a nightmare. I woke up at midnight to find you here with a knife in your hands. You were pretty out of it, but I was able to calm you down." Olivia moves in closely next to Rose, reaching over her to slide the knife on the floor safely away from them.

Rose takes a moment to breathe. "Did I... hurt anyone? Did I hurt you or the baby?" She asks hesitantly, afraid she hurt the ones she loves.

"No." Olivia lies, quickly hiding the cut on her arm away from Rose, but it's too late. Even in her tired state, Rose can see Olivia move her arm just a little too fast.

"Let me see." Rose says as tears form in her eyes.

Olivia huffs in defeat, reluctantly presenting the large cut on her arm to her. "It's not a big deal, really. We can patch it up really quick." Olivia says, wiping away Rose's tears before wrapping her in a tight hug as Rose begins to wail.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, I never meant to hurt you!" Rose repeats over and over as she wails. 

"Shh, shh. It's not your fault, okay. You're safe now, I'm here for you. I'm here for you." Olivia mumbles into Rose's hair before pressing a kiss to her head. She is close enough to Rose to feel her breathing on her skin, Olivia can't smell any traces of alcohol. "It must be insomnia." She says under her breath before she begins to quietly sing lullabies to Rose, they spend the next thirty minutes rocking back and fourth in each other's arms. 

Once Rose calms down, she pulls away from the embrace and gives Olivia a raised eyebrow in confusion, which causes her to abruptly stop singing."Are you singing Nirvana songs to me?"

"Um, I didn't know any actual lullabies... so yeah. It's this or Anarbor songs." Olivia says with a chuckle and a wide smile. "Did it work?"

"Sure, kid." Rose says sarcastically, sitting up and groaning.

"Whoa, are you okay?" Olivia asks with concern, her hands tighten around Rose.

"Yeah kid, I've sitting on the floor for so long that it's starting to do a number on my back."

"Then we should move somewhere more comfortable." Olivia stands to her feet and begins to walk away, expecting Rose to follow.

Rose tries to stand, but the constrictions of the baby sends her back to floor. "Olivia..." She turns around. "Don't laugh, but I don't think I can stand by myself anymore. I think I need your help." Rose says, looking down at her stomach with a sad chuckle.

Olivia approaches Rose, biting her lip to stop herself from snickering before grabbing Rose's hand and places the other hand behind her shoulder for support. She can't stop laughing as she pulls Rose to feet. "Stop it!" Rose can't help but laugh at the situation herself, taking a few steps forward before her knees go weak as a wave of tiredness suddenly hits

"Hey, hey lean on me." Olivia is immediately down at Rose's side offering a hand to help.

Olivia gently picks up Rose before wrapping an arm on Rose's shoulders as she leans into Olivia for support. They walk in silence into the dark living room, then she leads Rose over the couch and helps her down before letting go of her hand slowly. "Sit here, I'll be right back. I'm just going to turn on some lights."

She slowly turns away, she walks across the small room until reaching a lamp on her left. She leans down to click the switch on and watches the light illuminate the darkness with hope as she begins walking back to the couch with the remote in hand.

As she sits on the couch, Rose slumps down sideways with her head landing in Olivia's lap. She is taken aback by Rose's gesture of faith, their eyes meet and she stares down at Rose with sadness in her eyes because she has never seen her so sad and vulnerable. She realizes that she has been staring for too long when Rose looks up at her with a confused expression. Olivia gives a reassuring smile and tries to apologize, but is cut off when Rose yawns in her face.

"Yeah, that's nice. Why don't you get some sleep, I'll be right here when you wake up."

Rose turns onto her side and Olivia begins to caress her hair to make the fatigue set in quicker, she closes her eyes as a small smile forms on her face, feeling a sense of calm finally wash over her. She wakes from a another nightmare in a silent panic, her eyes dart under her eyelids before they open suddenly and she takes a few quick breaths, trying to focus on the images being projected on the T.V screen. As Rose begins to calm down, she realizes her hair is being gently pulled on from behind.

"Olivia... what are you doing to my hair?" Rose asks, quietly trying not to startle her.

Olivia chuckles. "Oh, I got bored waiting for you to wake up, so I decided to braid your hair to pass the time. Why are you going to try and stop me?"

"No, carry on." Rose says simply, not wanting to move from her comfortable position in Olivia's lap.

"Good, how are you feeling?" She asks with concern, continuing to focus on her work.

"Better... or well enough to ask what the hell are we watching?"

"Oh, Doctor Who." Olivia states simply.

Rose stares at screen for a moment. "Wait, I thought The Doctor was a man?" She says, pointing at the Thirteenth Doctor on screen.

"Yeah, The Doctor was a man, but she's a woman now, ever since the regeneration."

"Hmm, how strange. I like her." Rose says, starting to be invested in the show. They watch the show until the end credits then without warning Olivia grabs the remote from the coffee table and presses the mute button.

"Rose... can we talk about tonight?" She asks hesitantly, looking down at Rose with fear in her eyes and seeing the same in hers.

Rose sighs, looking up at Olivia and giving her a small nod.

Olivia takes a deep breath in and out before speaking. "Why didn't you tell me about your insomnia? That you weren't sleeping anymore?" 

"Why do you care? You hate me, remember?" Rose says quietly with a hint of sad anger.

Olivia scoffs in disbelief. "Is that what you still think?" She looks down at Rose for a response . "Yes, that's how our relationship began, but do you honestly believe that your head would be in my lap if I didn't care. Do you think I would've comfort you and sing Nirvana songs to you, hell you even let me braid your hair for last hour. Do you honestly believe I would've done any of that if I didn't care about you?"

"Things have been different between us ever the funeral, or even before that point. You were there to help me work through the death of my parents, and I am going help you work through this, so spill!"

Rose sighs before sitting to face Olivia. "My bed... my bed is too big, too big for just me. I only have my demons and the voices in my head to keep me company at night. That's why I spent so many night outside your bedroom door trying to talk you through your nightmares, so I wouldn't be lonely. After the funeral, you didn't need me anymore, I was on my own." Her breath shudders as she continues. "And that's what happened tonight. The demons finally took over, they infested my soul and made me do those horrible things, like so many times before."

Olivia listens intently when Rose finishes, taking a moment to understand the new information before taking her hand. "That's okay, you don't have to go back to that bed. We can spend our nights on this couch together watching Doctor Who reruns."

"Really?" Rose asks with a raised eyebrow, expecting Olivia to be kidding.

"Yeah, why not. From now on we'll keep our bedroom doors open, and when one of us has a nightmare, the other person has to come running for comfort. When everything calms down, we'll stay on this couch until we fall asleep. How's that sound?"

Rose slowly nods. "Good.. that sounds like a plan, I'd like that."

"Just as long as I keep braiding your hair."

"Sure, kid."

* * *

They've spent more nights on that couch together then their beds, finding comfort with each other's company and completely abandoning their separate beds altogether by the time they chose baby names during Rose's seventh month of pregnancy.

Rose sits in her room with a book of baby names in one hand, a yellow legal pad and pen in the other, her eyes look over two columns of possible boys and girls names as frustration builds because none of the names feel right to her. Unhappy with her progress, Rose rips the page out and crumples it into a ball before tossing it behind her to join the others on the floor.

Deciding to take a break, Rose places the pad down on the desk in front of her and slowly stands to her feet, using the chair to help her push off. She watches rain drops hit the window before a flash of lighting strikes across the sky and then comes thunder. The crash of thunder hasn't even finished before she can hear screaming coming from Olivia's room.

Rose races to Olivia's as fast as she can. "Stupid waddle legs!" She mutters to herself, cursing her lack of mobility while walking before she reaches Olivia's room and finds her sitting up in bed shaking as she crying, and Rose quickly sits on the end of the bed pulls Olivia in for a tight hug.

"Shh, shh. I've got you. It's just a dream, just a dream. Breathe kid, just breathe. You're safe with me now." Rose repeats the last part over and over softly until Olivia calms down and breathing becomes more regular.

Rose slowly pulls away from the embrace, holding Olivia's face in her hands and wiping the tears away with her thumb. "Couch?" She asks, looking Olivia in the eyes. Olivia just nods, pulling the sheets back and leaving the bed before helping Rose up as they start walking to the exit. "Good, maybe you can help choose baby names." Rose jokes as they step over the threshold.

In less than five minutes later, Rose and Olivia sit across from one another on the couch discussing baby names surrounded by snacks while the T.V provides background noise.

"Alright, these are the boy names I've got so far: Benjamin, Jacob and Noah, Thomas or Tommy." Rose reads the names off of the pad before looking up at Olivia for input. "What do you think? The only stipulation is, I want the middle name to be Grant."

"Okay, lets work this out, Benjamin Grant Wilson-Queen... Yeah, I think that works." Olivia says, licking the ice cream off of her spoon and dropping it back in tub.

"Queen...?" Rose asks hesitantly, almost scared.

Olivia eyes go wide as she realizes she hit a sensitive note and reaches out for Rose's hand. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize, I thought you were going to hyphenate our two names together."

Rose sighs. "Yeah, it's just... I don't feel comfortable sharing his name with my baby. What if he doesn't come back... what if he never comes back? Wait... 'our' names?' Like you and me?"

Olivia smiles at Rose. "Yeah, don't think about giving this baby Connor's name, think about giving the baby my name because I am here for you now and I will be here once the baby comes."

Rose smiles, becoming comfortable with the idea the more she runs it over in her head. "Yeah you're right, I can hyphenate." She says quietly.

They turn their attention to the T.V, letting the uncomfortable silence pass between them until Olivia clears her throat and speaks up. "What about girl names? You gotta have girl names."

"I do actually." Rose turns the page back and looks down at the next page. "Sofia or Ellie, I really couldn't think of any other names. Do you any suggestions, kid?"

Olivia looks at Rose before a playful smirk comes across her face. "How about... Daisy!?" She asks, trying to hold back a laugh.

Rose looks back Olivia with anger in her eyes, she leans over to her and playfully hits her with the pad. "Wow kid, wow, where did you get the idea to name someone after a flower?" She asks in mock outrage.  

"I feel like this shouldn't be said, but I will not name my baby after months of the year, or the four seasons. AND NO FLOWERS!" Rose enunciates the last part for effect.

"Wow, you're no fun."

* * *

  **W.G: I've have a job for you, interested?**

Rose looks down at the text message on her phone before looking up over at Olivia with her textbooks spread out over the dinning table, she is quietly working on homework while humming along the beat of the music coming through her earbuds to help her concentrate so she probably won't even notice if Rose slips out for a while.

 **Rose: I'm game.**  

She slowly gets from the chair before walking over Olivia, gently tapping her on the shoulder, "I'm going to the store. Do you want anything?" Rose lies, trying to hide her true intentions from Olivia for her protection. She shakes her head at Rose before and turns her attention back to her homework without a second thought on the matter.

Rose smiles at Olivia before walking downstairs to the exit, she closes the door behind her as she reads the text on her phone.

**W.G: Meet me on the roof. I'll have your gear ready.**

She reaches the roof after half an hour of struggling to climb the fire escape with her baby. "Why did you want to meet on the roof? Next time, can we meet on the street? Especially now!" Rose says, pointing down her stomach before placing her hand on knees, trying catch her breath.

"Sure thing." Olivia steps out of the shadows. 

Rose looks back at Olivia in shock. "What the hell are you doing here, kid? 

"I should be asking you the same question!" Olivia says, crossing her arms.

"You mean, this isn't the grocery store?" Rose jokes with Olivia, but is only met with a stern expression looking back at her. "How long have you known?" She huffs in defeat.

"Four months, I had my suspicions when you read an issue of Guns & Ammo magazine to the baby, then I found your gear the last time I was cleaning the house."

"Really that long... is there even a job?

"No." Olivia says while walking toward Rose. "At least not a job you concerned with. I spoke a guy who's name sounded like a toothpaste flavor, Wintergreen, I think his name was. I told him about your pregnancy and we came to deal: he agreed to take all of your assignments until the baby comes to term just as long as I kept you alive till then... whatever that means."

"Really, you mean I got dressed out of my pajamas for nothing?"

"Yeah, if you can call it that." Olivia says, snickering before Rose gives an raised eyebrow in confusion. "Rose, look down at your clothes."

Rose looks down and examines her clothes, a overstretched black tank top to cover her huge belly, a black hoodie covering her upper body, black sweatpants and sneakers. "Well I'm sorry, they don't make maternity clothes for assassins." She says frustrated, but Olivia comes close to comfort her.

"Exactly, you're on maternity leave. You have one more month until this baby comes, do me a favor and promise me  you will take it easy until then."

Rose is quiet for a moment before she nods, not wanting a fight. "Okay, I promise."

"Okay, good." Olivia turns away from her and walking over to the fire escape leading off the roof.  "Do you want pizza or Chinese food for dinner?"

"What about after the baby comes?" Rose asks, her breath hitching with sadness. Olivia turns back around, walking toward Rose as she continues. "Being an assassin is the only thing I know, the only thing I'm good at. I don't know if I can go out there every night and do these horrible things when I will have a newborn baby at home who needs me to be a mom."

"That's okay, the flower shop is finally doing well, so you can step away and take some time until you feel comfortable, maybe you can help me with customers." Olivia says smiling and putting a hand on Rose's shoulder to reassure her.

Rose scoffs. "I'm not good with people. Do you remember what happened with Mr. Henderson last week when I tried to help out."

"Oh yeah, that was bad, but anymore could've made that mistake. That bee was hard to spot." Olivia laughs before wincing at the memory. "My point is, we have other ways to support ourselves then these assassination contracts."

"Rose listen to me, it's only one month. We're going be okay." 

"Okay." Rose says quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Good, can we get off this roof now? It's cold and I'm hungry." 

"Olivia, I don't exactly know how I managed to climb up here and I'm not sure if I can get back down."

* * *

One month later.

"Okay, here comes another contraction!" The doctor says, but she can barely be heard over Rose's defining screams of pain.

"WHERE'S OLIVIA!" Rose screams through the pain, sitting in a hospital bed with doctors and nurses surrounding her.

"I'm here, I'm here! Take my hand, feel my hand." Olivia races up next to Rose, their expressions soften when they see each other as they take each other hands tightly.

"That's ten cementers, are you ready to push Miss Wilson?" The doctor asks, and Rose gives her a nod. "Okay I'm going need only family members in here, so I can have quiet."

One of the nurses tries to usher Olivia out of the room, but Rose doesn't let go of her hand. "SHE IS FAMILY! SHE STAYS!" She growls at the doctor, her grip tightens on Olivia's hand, causing Olivia to give a small whimper of pain.

"What about me?" Asks a figure standing in the doorway before stepping forward into the light to reveal themselves as Connor Queen.

Rose and Olivia look at Connor in shock before they look at each other for conformation that this is actually happening. The both look at Connor in anger before they both say in unison.

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy the subtext. I am sorry to leave on a cliffhanger, especially when I don't exactly know when I'll be writing next chapter of this series. I am burned out after writing these three chapters pretty much back to back to back so I'm going to take a bit of a break and step away to recharge, come back better and stronger. I also started going back to school this week, so I need to move my focus on doing well in school because I can't fall behind, I already have enough fears and anxiety.
> 
> I will not leave this series out to dry, I love writing and I love writing this series, I love your feedback, but homework, assignments and doing well in school has to come first. I hope you all can respect that.
> 
> Okay enough with the PSA. I want thank you all for reading this series, you can reach me on Tumblr Hands127-blog  
> Thank you so much.


	4. Light.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new life comes into the world that causes Rose, Olivia and Connor to reevaluate their priorities and their roles in each other's lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I'm back writing this series sooner than expected. I won't say why, but I'm back. Okay, this chapter will introduce a new original character in the form of the Wilson-Queen baby. I don't have any warnings for this chapter, it's basically domestic AF.
> 
> Title is from the song of the same name by Sleeping At Last.

* * *

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Rose and Olivia both look at Connor with of with a mix of shock and anger.

Connor fumbles the words in his mouth. "Hi..."

Olivia slowly lets go Rose's hand, taking large, fast steps toward Connor until they stand just a few feet away from each other. Connor's hand tighten on the balloon that he bought from the gift shop as he prepares an explanation. "Hi... I -" Olivia cuts him off with an open palm slap that cracks across his face like thunder.

"Did you just slap me?" Connor looks at Olivia in shock, trying to recover.

"I did. Weird, right?" She says with a chuckle, she turns her attention back to Rose to see her chuckling as well, before everyone is brought back to the situation at hand.

"Come here, both of you. Olivia, I need you to hold my hand!" Rose shouts urgently through the pain while holding her hand out for Olivia to take from her position in bed.

"Right, right. I'm sorry." Olivia glares at Connor before walking back over to Rose and taking her hand again. Connor stands in the doorway, one foot planted firmly in the room, the other is still in the hallway outside. He is speechless, his eyes unfocused as he tries to take in the room around him.

"Who's this guy, now!?" The doctor gestures to Connor, clearly angry and frustrated.

"He's my brother..." Olivia says to the doctor.

"And the father of the baby." Rose finishes.

"Alrightly then... hey, you! Are you in or out!" The doctor shouts at Connor before turning her attention back to help Rose deliver her baby.

Connor takes a deep breath in and out before taking a step into the room. He leans against the wall and folds his arms, deciding it was best to remain silent until he is needed.

"Okay, Ms. Wilson I need you to keep pushing, just remain calm and focus on breathing." The doctor says calmly before Rose nods in response.   

Rose grips Olivia's hand and closes her eyes as she begins to push, her only conformation that things are going according to plan is when the doctor keeps talking her through what's happening. "Okay, you're doing great Ms. Wilson, we have a head... and arms, and finally we have a pair of legs." But the doctor's words are drowned out by sound of Rose screaming. The only thing that stops Rose from screaming is the sound of a baby crying.

Everyone in the room is completely silent, the cries of the baby is only thing that provides any sort of noise, but those calm down as well. "Its a girl!" The doctor announces proudly.

Rose's eyes snap open and she leans up to the doctor quickly. "A girl... is she okay? Please tell me she's okay!" She says desperately, tears forming in her eyes as she grips Olivia's hand tighter.

The doctor walks toward Rose with a smile on her face and a swaddled baby in her arms. "She's fine, she's perfect." The doctor carefully places the baby girl in Rose's arms. 

Rose looks down at the baby in resting her arms, her beautiful baby. She looks down at her daughter in shock, unsure if this is actually happening. She turns to Olivia. "Is she..."

"Yes." Olivia states simply to Rose before she looks at the baby with fondness.

Rose turns back to her daughter, the shock turns into a smile as she leans in and gently kisses her on the forehead just below the small pink beanie cap on her head, Rose's tears splash on her head as she does. Rose slowly takes in her daughter's new scent. "Hi, hi, I'm your mama." She says softly with a smile as more tears fall from her eyes.

"She is perfect." Olivia repeats, gently caresses the baby's cheek with back of her finger.

"Yes... she is." Rose is unable to take her eyes away from her daughter, closely examining every feature on her face. Her bow shaped lips, her thick eyelashes and the blue eyes beneath them, her deep blue eyes... just like Connor's. At this moment, Rose is reminded that Connor is still in the room.

She glances up at Connor to see him staring down at his feet, shifting his weight from foot to foot unsure of his place. "Connor, come here... and meet my daughter." Rose looks at him  with a smile on her face. 

"Y- you're not mad?" Connor asks apprehensively, taking small steps towards Rose and Olivia.

"Oh no, I'm beyond furious. If I wasn't so tired from giving birth I would throw you out that window myself." Rose says, smiling down at her daughter. "Yes I would, yes I would!" She says, trying to get her daughter to smile.

Connor walks up on Rose's left with Olivia on her right. The three of them stare down at the baby in awe and wonder, until the doctor speaks up. "So, does she have a name yet?"

Rose is about speak up, but Olivia places a hand on her shoulder. "How about Harper?" Olivia looks at Rose before she continues. "I know it wasn't one of the names we discussed, but I remember the name from an old friend of mine. I was going to present the name to you for consideration during dinner, but then your water broke."

"Harper... Harper." Rose repeats as the name runs through her mind. She looks down at her daughter and smiles. "Harper... what do you think of your name, huh?" The baby must of heard her name because Rose can see her daughter give her a tiny smile in agreement, which only makes her smile more. "Harper it is then, Harper Grant Wilson-Queen."

"Queen...?" Connor asks, looking at Rose and Olivia with a smile on his face, but Olivia shakes her head.

"We're not going to use your name, we're using mine!" Olivia says coldly to Connor. 

The doctor gives a fake cough to break the tension between Connor and Olivia. "Right, Harper is what I will write on my paperwork." The doctor scribbles the name down on her clipboard quickly before looking back at to Rose. "Now Ms. Wilson, I would like one of the nurses to take Harper to help us fill out the remaining paperwork, then to the nursery to meet the other new babies. This will give you both a chance to rest before we release you guys to go home." 

Rose looks back at the doctor hesitantly, her grip gently tightens around her daughter scared that if she lets go of Harper that she will never come back to her. Rose is about to refuse the offer, but Olivia takes her hand.

"It's okay Rose, they're just taking Harper to rest. I can go with them if you like." Olivia gives Rose's hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Promise to go with them, kid?"

"I promise, I was going to get something to eat anyway. Do you want something?"

"I'm fine, thank you."

Rose looks at her daughter, gently kisses her forehead again and slowly hands her over to the nurse. "Please be careful with her." The nurse smiles and nods at Rose before turning to leave the room with the doctor and Olivia following closely behind. 

Ten minutes have passed since Olivia with the nurse, ten minutes without knowing that her daughter is safe. Rose moves restlessly in bed unable to sleep as her nerves get to her, her eyes unable to focus on objects around the room for more then five seconds before on to the next object. The only person she refuses to look at is Connor, and Connor can't take his eyes off of her as he takes notice of the distress on her face.

"Rose..." He says quietly, he is about to continuing speaking before Rose cuts him off.

"Connor! Olivia hasn't come back yet, I'm staring to get worried about her. Would you please find her?"

Connor nods at Rose before standing from his chair and leaving the room. She watches him leave before slowly closing her eyes feeling fatigue as she drifts off to sleep. He finds his sister not soon after being sent out to look for her. She is standing outside of the nursery with her face pressed against the viewing window watching Harper and the other babies with pure delight. He slowly approaches her from behind, a smile comes across his face as he watches the babies as well. He waits for Olivia to notice him through his refection in the glass.

Connor steps next to Olivia. "Do you know where she is?

"She is in the second row, third on the far left." Olivia says, pointing to the space where Harper is sleeping.

Connor takes a moment to admire Harper with a smile, already unable to imagine a life without her. "She's cute, isn't she?"

"Yes, she is. She has your eyes." 

"I noticed that."

The two of them look fondly into the room of babies for a little while longer before Olivia turns away from the window, walking across the hall and sitting down in a nearby chair. Connor follows suite by sitting down in the chair next to her. Olivia chuckles, looking at Connor. "How's your face?" 

"Good, I deserved that. That was one hell of a slap." Connor chuckles, rubbing the spot where he slapped.

"You deserve a lot worse than that after you left us." Olivia says coldly. "Do you even know what you did? because I don't think you do. When you left Rose behind, you also left me behind. Mom and dad had just died, but you weren't there when I needed you, no one was there to comfort and help me grieve, expect for Rose. She was there to talk me through my nightmares and she held me as I cried in front of their graves, she wouldn't let go of me until I stopped, until I was safe." 

"I'm sorry." Connor says quietly, unable to look at Olivia out of shame, his hands shaking from nerves.

"Thank you, but I'm not the only person that you need to apologize to." Olivia looks down at her hands cupped together, unsure if she can bring herself to ask her next question. "Did you grieve?"

Connor leans back in the chair, taking a deep breath in and out. "Yes... in my own way, yes I did."

"Did you do what you needed to do out in the world? Will you come home now?" Olivia grips Connor hands to stop them from shaking.

"I don't know... I want to. I want to see Harper grow, but I doubt Rose will forgive me... not after what I did." 

"She will, I saw the way you two looked at each other tonight. She hasn't been happy for a while now, but her eyes lit up when you entered the room, I saw the same look in both of your eyes when Harper was born. Trust me, she is happy that you're here. Talk to each other, just help each other understand. Yes, you are going have to give her an explanation and one hell of a good apology, but there is no reason why you two can't be happy together."

"Why are you trying to help me? I thought, you said I deserved worse than that slap."

Olivia chuckles. "You do, but you also deserve to be happy, both of you. If you two idiots would just get out of your own way and you'll be able see that. You made mistakes it's true, but this baby is a new start for all of us."

She stands from her chair and begins to walk away. "Well, I better go to back Rose and tell her Harper is okay. You can be happy Connor, just think about it." She leaves Connor alone in the hallway with nothing to entertain him but his thoughts.

Rose wakes slowly to sound of quiet munching and occasionally bag rustling, her eyes adjust to the sight of Olivia sitting in the chair next to her bed munching on snacks and watching the T.V on silent with closed captions while she unaware Rose is awake. Olivia can see Rose is awake out of corner of her eye, she turns to face and her a big closed mouth while she chews and swallows her food, she wipes the crumbs off of her body before speaking. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

"No, I was just coming out of it. How'd it go with the nurses? Is Harper okay?" Rose asks, her voice laced with concern.

"She's fine, the nurses took her prints while I filled out her birth certificate. I followed them to the nursery just to be sure Harper made it safely. You should be able to see her again soon."

Rose nods and gives Olivia a smile, griping her hand. "Good, gives me a chance to talk to you."

Olivia looks at her confused. "What about...?"

Rose takes a deep breath and looks away from Olivia. "Do you want me to come home with you and Connor?... now that he is back, you have your family back. I'm not needed anymore. I can leave, I can leave with Harper by tom-." She vis cut off by Olivia placing a hand on top of hers

"Wait, what are you talking about? Where else would you go?"

"I don't know, but Harper and I will figure it out. I can figure it out.

"Rose, you and Harper are family now. We won't abandon you, I won't abandon you and I won't let you abandon me either m" 

"No, you've done more than enough kid, besides you have your own life to live. I will not let you be held back by some single teen mom and her newborn. You're fourteen now Olivia, I mean you're going to start high school this year that means hanging out with your friends more and your girlfriend more. I don't want to continue taking from you because you're always looking after me."

Olivia grips Rose's hand. "You haven't taken anything from me and you never will." Olivia looks down in her lap. "Besides, Katie broke up with me today, she cheated on me."

Rose looks at Olivia with wide, protective eyes. "What? Why didn't you tell me sooner? Do I need to kick her ass?!"

"No, that won't be necessary... well maybe. I was going tell you tonight, but then the whole baby thing happened and I forgot about it when the shock and adrenaline hit."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't. If you want to make it up to me, you will come to our home and bring my cute niece with you. I can't wait to spoil her." Olivia glances away from Rose to see a nurse walk into the room with Harper in her arms and Connor following behind them. "Speaking of, look who's back." Olivia gestures to where the nurse is standing with Harper.

Rose turns and smiles when she sees Harper, the nurse steps forward and gently places Harper in Rose's ready arms. "I think she is ready to go home with mom." The nurse says, handing her over. 

Rose turns back to Olivia, mouthing 'thank you' to her before smiling at her daughter. "Hi there, what do you say? Do you want see your new home?"

Olivia looks at her family with a fond smile. "That's a good idea. It's time for us to go home... all of us." 

* * *

Connor drives the four of them home in silence while Rose quietly coos at her daughter from the backseat of the car until they pull into the parking space and Olivia speaks up. "Thanks for the ride, Connor. Rose and I had to take an Uber, I can't decide what was more terrifying the ride to the hospital or the birth."

He nods at Olivia with a halfhearted smile before he turns off the car and takes the keys from the ignition. She steps out of the car, walking over and opening the back door for Rose who has Harper in her arms. 

"Olivia..." Rose gently hands Harper over to her as she slowly gets out of the car.

"I've got her." Olivia takes Harper in her arms, she smiles and gives her a tiny wave "Hi..." 

When Rose's feet find the solid ground, she takes Harper back from Olivia before following her to the entrance of the flower shop. Olivia takes her keys out and hold opens the front door for Rose to step through, she looks back at the car to see Connor still sitting in the driver seat, his hands firmly gripping the steering wheel as he looks out the wind shield. 

"You go on ahead, I'll be up there in a sec." Olivia says to Rose before looking back at Connor once again. She walks back to car, putting her elbows on the open window and looking at Connor. "Hey, you coming?"

Connor looks at back her speechless as if the words want to escape but can't. He glances up at the new Sherwood Florist sign hanging in the background, knowing things have changed.

"Connor...?"

He slowly snaps out of it. "Things are going to be different now, aren't they, smalls?"

"Yeah... let me show you." Olivia opens the car door, waiting for Connor to step out and follow her.

He steps out of the car and begins to follow Olivia into the unfamiliar house. When Olivia flicks on the lights Connor is in awe as he takes in all of the colorful sights around him. Every inch of the shop is covered with different types of flowers. Red roses, pink peonies, yellow tulips, white lilies and orange orchids are just a few of the flowers that Connor can see at a quick glance, all complemented by the bright lights above.

Connor looks at Olivia impressed "You did all of this?"

Olivia can't help but smile at the compliment. "Yes, All it took was a quick remodel and we were back in business, literary. It wasn't just me though, Rose tries to help out around the shop, but you know how she is when put in a customer service position." 

"Come on, the grand tour isn't over yet." She gestures up the stairs leading to second floor, then Olivia opens the door, her smile turns to a frown as she remembers the state the apartment was left in, clothes are strewn all over the floor, knocked over pieces of furniture and half eaten plates of food still on the dinner table. "Sorry about the mess, we kind of had to leave for the hospital in a hurry."

Rose walks over to space to where they are standing with Harper in her arms, she glances over at the clock on wall to notice it is near midnight before looking back at Olivia. "I will clean this place soon, just let me lay Harper down to sleep." The tiredness in her eyes is clear.

Connor looks back at Rose and shakes his head. "No, you guys get some sleep, I can clean up here." Connor says sincerely, looking Rose in eyes while waiting for a response.

Rose quickly looks up at Connor. "Thank you, we'll talk in the morning." She gives her full attention back to Harper as she begins to walk to her bedroom, Olivia catches up to her and leans in close to Rose so they can only hear the conversation.

"Couch?" Olivia asks simply.

Rose smiles and politely declines. "Not tonight kid, something tells me that we're all gonna need to get as much sleep as we can get." Rose looks down at her daughter with a tired smile before looking back at Olivia with concern. "But if you have a nightmare..." She trails off when Olivia places a hand on her shoulder.

She smiles at Rose and Harper. "I know, I'll keep my door open. Goodnight, I love you both." 

"Goodnight kid, I love you too." Rose says before continuing to the bedroom, closing the door her behind with a loud click.

Connor now stands alone to clean up the mess that he didn't make, but would happy to make it right.

When Rose enters her room with Harper, she can't but smile at her and admire how perfect she truly is. Her smile doesn't last for long though as Harper slowly begins to cry.

"No, no please don't cry. Come on, don't cry, I'm right here just tell me what you need. Please, what do you need?" Rose pleads with Harper desperately, gently rocking her back and fourth in her arms, tears form in Rose's eyes and she begins to cry along with her. For the first since Rose found out about her pregnancy, she feels completely helpless as her daughter continues to wail in her arms. "Please... tell me what I'm supposed to do."

"Are you hungry?" Rose looks at Harper as she calms down slightly. "Come here, let me feed you." She holds Harper close to her chest and begins feed her. Harper looks back at her mother with wide, curious eyes before she relaxes into a rhythm.

Rose smiles at Harper as she wipes the tears away from the both of them. "There you go, that's all you needed." She paces the floor while feeding Harper in her arms. "Sorry about that little freak out back there, probably not the best way to start off our relationship. Oh it just occurred to me that you probably have idea who I am."

"My name is Rose Wilson, I'm your mother and you... you are my daughter. As your mother, I will make you three promises: you will always be loved, you will always be safe and you will always be needed." Rose repeats the words she always said to herself while growing up, the words she wishes her father said to her.

"You will always be loved because you are my daughter and I love you more than life itself. You will always be safe here in my arms. You will be needed because I need you in my life. I think we are going be good for each other. I will always be by your side, you and me against the world... what do you say to that?"

Harper has finished feeding, Rose adjust her shirt back into place as she waits for her to give any sort of response to her question until Harper spits up. "Yeah, I like our odds too." She chuckles, gently wiping Harper's mouth clean with her thumb before holding Harper over her shoulder and patting her back gently until she burps. 

Rose sits down in the rocking chair next to Harper's crib, she begins to sing Nirvana songs to her because thanks to Olivia they are the only songs she knows, but it works a few minutes later Harper drifts off to sleep in Rose's arms. She slowly to her feet before turning and gently places Harper down on the cot in the crib, she leans in a gently kisses her one last time.

She walks over to her closet and strips off the dirty clothes before grabbing pajamas. Rose watches Harper sleep peacefully as she dresses herself. Deciding that she simply wants to be close to her daughter as possible Rose walks back over the crib and gives Harper a fond smile before she quietly wheels the crib over to her bed before climbing in. Rose watches her daughter with a smile, noticing that Harper subconsciously clenches and unclenches her tiny fist while sleeping.

Rose leans over close, moving her hand in between the wooden bars of the crib until Harper's fist closes tightly around her pinky finger. "Sleep well, my little daisy."

* * *

Quiet. 

A peaceful quiet with the birds chirping outside the open window as sunlight peeks through the curtains and tree leaves rustle in a cool breeze. Yes, it was a peaceful quiet, just not the sound someone should hear when they have a newborn baby, but it's what Rose hears as she wakes.

Rose's eyes slowly focus on Harper's crib. She expects Harper to be sleeping soundly, but Harper is nowhere to be found. Rose's eyes widen as she jerks up in bed with panic on her face, she immediately jumps out of bed and begins a desperate search for her daughter. "Harper... Harper, are you playing hide and seek with mommy? I'm impressed because I didn't think you could do that yet, but it's time to come out now. Please, you're scaring me." Rose jokes with herself halfheartedly to hide the sadness.

Rose pulls her bedsheets away until all of the blankets and pillows cover the room rather than the bed, she drops to floor thinking that Harper somehow fell on the floor and that worries her more. Harper is not here, she's gone...  just like the rest of them, Rose is about breakdown when she notices a piece of paper slid under the door. She walks over and reads the note.

**Rose,**

**Harper and I are bonding in kitchen over pancakes, don't worry we have pancakes for you too. Find us when you're ready.**

**Connor.**

Rose crumbles up the note before swinging open the door and stomps to kitchen. Her anger dissipates when she sees her daughter, but comes back when she sees Connor holding her. "What is this?" She holds up the note.

Connor smiles. "I came to your room when I heard Harper crying. Once I was able come her down I decided to make pancakes with her, I've been taking care of her all morning."

Rose looks at Connor with anger. "I didn't ask you to take care of her!"

Connor's smiles turns to a frown. "I know, but you were sleeping peacefully and I didn't want disturb you. Besides, I wanted to spend some time with my d-"

Rose angrily cuts him off before he can finish. "So, you thought it was better for me to wake up in a panic as I search desperately for my lost child!"

"I'm sor-" 

"HAND ME MY DAUGHTER!" Rose says coldly, refusing to hide her anger any longer.

Connor looks at Rose in shock before looking down at Harper sadly, he hands her over without saying a word. "I guess we need to talk now." He says sadly.

Rose looks down at her daughter with concern before looking up at Connor. "I suppose we do." She gestures to a few chairs at the dining table. Connor grabs a plate that holds a stack of pancakes and sitting down at the table across from Rose.

"How do we start?" Connor asks quietly.

"Here's how this is gonna play out, I am going to talk, you're going to shut up and listen. Speak when spoken to, understand!?"

"I understand." 

"Why did you come back?"

Connor has practiced the responses to the questions that he knew Rose would ask him over and over in his head for months until he could answer in his sleep, but sitting in front of Rose, he freezes. Rose stares back at him with pure anger and Connor knows he has to answer. "I..."

Rose scoffs. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I start with a hard question? here, let me start off with a easy one. Why did you leave?" She asks in sarcastic angry tone, but Connor is speechless again.

"WHY DID YOU LEAVE!?" She shouts loudly at Connor.

"BECAUSE I WAS SCARED! My parents had just died and you dropped a baby bomb in my lap. I couldn't handle it, so I left!" Connor's words bounce off the walls of the house causing Harper to cry in Rose's arms. Connor realizes his mistake and tries to come close and comfort her, but Rose holds a hand out to stop him before she comforts Harper herself.

"AND YOU THINK I WASNT! I was fucking terrified, I still am." Rose says in a quiet rage, her voice breaking with emotion. "I didn't know the first thing about being a mother, but I am still standing, I am still here and now she is too. It's funny how nine months can change someone's priorities, Harper is my first priority, she needs me to be her mother."

Rose chuckles as if something is funny to her. "I finally have someone who needs me. I will not abandon her! she deserves more than that, she deserves more than I could ever give her so I will do anything to make her happy, to make her safe. I will protect Harper from anything or anyone in this world that seeks to do her harm... even you, Connor."

Connor looks at Rose in disbelief. "Do you honestly believe I would hurt her?"

Rose looks Connor dead in the eyes. "You hurt me. You hurt me more than any bullet or knife stabbing ever could. I was happy with you. I cared for you, I loved you and I thought you did too. When you left me with a baby it made me feel worthless, I hated you and I hated myself because I couldn't believe that something so pure as my daughter could ever come from me."

"I will not allow you to hurt her like you hurt me. It has taken me a long time, but with the help of Olivia and my daughter I'm finally happy again, Connor. Harper makes me happy, we need each other, but we don't need you. I can do the whole single mom thing, I'll feed and bathe her, I'll take her to the first day school and so much more. I'll do it all on my own if I have to."

"Is that what you want?" Connor asks sadly, trying not to let the emotion get to him.

"No." Rose chuckles again. "You wanna know what the worst part of all of this is? The worst part is that I still have feelings for you."

"You deserve better than me. I'm no good for you, Rose."

"I know." Rose takes a deep breath before speaking again. "Why did you come back?"

Connor sighs. "I felt like it was time for me to come home. Olivia called me a few weeks ago, told me about the rooftop conversation you two had. It was good to hear her voice again. I came back as soon as I could, that was three weeks ago, it took me some time to build up the courage to face you guys again. The truth is, I missed you Rose, I missed Olivia. I wanted to see Harper's birth."

"Do you want see her grow? Connor answer me honestly, What do you want?" Rose asks with a hint of anger.

Connor takes a moment to breathe. "I want to be good for you, I want to be good for Harper, and I will be. Rose, I know nothing I do or say will ever make up for what I did to you, but I want to see Harper grow, I want nothing more. I want to be a family with you, I want to raise Harper with you... if you will have me."

Rose sighs, looking down at Harper and smiles before looking at Connor. "Let me make one thing clear, you are here because you want to be. You are here because you want to raise Harper with me as a family. I do not want you here because of your guilt or because you feel sorry for abandoning me, if you do feel that way you can walk out the door right now, I will not be a fucking charity case... Oh! if you EVER abandon me again, I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND KILL YOU MYSELF! Understand?"

He gulps down his fear. "Yes ma'am."

Come here and meet our daughter." Rose looks at Connor with a smile on her face.

Connor leans over and looks at Harper in Rose's arms with a smile on both of their faces. "Hi Harper, I'm your dad." He waves at Harper before looking up at Rose. "Thank you, she is perfect."

"She is, which is all the more reason why we can't screw her up, okay, we just can't." Rose gives Connor a worried look.

"We wont." Connor puts a hand on Rose's shoulder to reassure her, but Rose backs away from his touch.

Connor sighs. "How do we move forward as people... as parents? Olivia told me that we should help each other understand, but I don't know how to do that."

A playful smirk finds it's way onto Rose's face. "I do, I converted the basement into a hideout of sorts. It's where I keep my Ravager gear and weapons, but's it's also where I train..." Rose trails off, hoping Connor will catch on.

"Rose, what are you saying? Are you asking me to spar with you?" Connor asks hesitantly. 

"Yep, are you scared I'll kick your ass, Queen?

Connor gets right in Rose's face with smile. "Oh, those are fighting words, Wilson."

Connor and Rose look at each other as if they nothing in the world had ever come between. They are about kiss, but snap out of it when Harper begins to cry in Rose's arms. She gives a little laugh as she pulls away and turns her attention to Harper. "I'll meet you downstairs in about ten minutes, just let me get Harper to sleep." 

"I can do it." Connor says sincerely.

Rose immediately tenses up as the words leave his mouth "No it's fine, just let me do it."

"Rose... please, you can trust me, I would never hurt her." Connor says softly.

She looks down at Harper with a soft expression before she looks at Connor and that expression turns stern and cold. "Promise me!"

"I promise." Connor says simply, but his words say enough, he will always be here for his new family. Rose gives Harper a kiss on the forehead before begrudgingly handing her to Connor. He begins to walk to the bedroom and Rose walks in opposite direction down to the basement, but stops and turns back around.

"Connor wait!" Her words cause Connor to turn back around with a curious 'hmm'.

Rose takes a deep breath. "There's one more thing I have to know. That night... the night I told you I was pregnant and we made plans to leave town together. If that night had been different, would you have done it? I mean, were you serious about running away with me?"  

Connor looks at Rose with sadness in his eyes as if he was able to see a better path for them. "Dead serious."

* * *

57 times, that's how many times Connor has landed on his back defeated with Rose standing over him offering a smile and a hand to help him up. "I nearly had you that time." He says, trying to catch his breath as he takes Rose's hand.

"Nearly counts for nothing Connor." Rose chuckles, pulling Connor to his feet. "But don't worry, you'll get there. Now, lets go again."

"Just gimme a minute." Connor puts his hands on his knees as he sucks in air. "Why are you so impatient to get your ass kicked?" He jokes.

"You wish!" Rose chuckles, assuming a fighting stance, Connor takes another deep breath before doing the same.

Rose is the first to charge forward with a series of attacks that catches Connor off guard. She is able to land few quick punches to his face before he puts his hands up to defend, this causes Rose to change up her strategy with a swift kick to the ribs that knocks the wind out of him. She takes the opportunity to tackle him onto his back. Connor barely has time raise his arms in defense before Rose pounces on him with a look of pure rage in her eyes, but it's too late. Rose is able to break through his defense easily and continue punching his face with each hit coming with the force like an explosion. Rose says something through the punches that surprises Connor, and he realizes this was never about sparring for her. 

"HOW COULD YOU LEAVE ME!"

Rose repeats the words over and over as she continues to wail on Connor until her arms weaken. Eventually, Rose realizes what she has done when stopping to breathe. She looks at Connor's beaten and bloody face as the rage dissipates from her eyes, she looks over at raised fist covered in his blood. She collapses into Connor's chest and begins to cry in his arms. "I thought you would never leave me because we need each other. How could you leave me? How could you of people leave me?" 

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry." Connor cries weakly as his arms tighten around Rose and he presses a kiss to her hair.

They stay in each other arms with Connor listening to Rose cry and continuing to kiss her hair in effort to calm her down, Rose listening to Connor's labored breathing until he speaks up softly. "Rose, I think we both need to get some sleep."

* * *

Olivia stares down at the large stack of pancakes that was on the on the table before looking around the room confused as to who left them there. Olivia walks to Rose's room searching for answers and company for breakfast. "Mmm, mystery pancakes."

"Hey Rose, there are pancakes on t-" Olivia stops and smiles when she sees the beautiful sight before her.

Connor and Rose are asleep facing each other on the bed with their daughter sleeping peacefully nuzzled safely between them. She notices the bandages on Connor's face and Rose's blood stained hands, Olivia feels peace wash over her as she takes out her phone wanting a picture to capture this perfect moment of her new family.

Olivia can't help but recite one of her favorite movies quietly to herself. "This is my family. I found it all on my own. It's little, and broken. But still good. Yeah, still good."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys would not believe how many times I flipped flopped on the gender of the baby, I finally had to flip a coin to decide. if the baby was a boy I would have named him Hunter.  
> Did everyone catch the easter eggs I put in this chapter?
> 
> I want to thank you all for reading this chapter. I'm kind of interested in writing an alternate universe story where Rose raises Harper on her own as a single mom. If that is something that sounds interesting to anyone you can tell me so on tumblr at hands127-blog, I gotta say that I'm starting get the hang of the tumblr thing.
> 
> Thank you all for reading.


	5. Honor Thy Father And Mother.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor and Rose live peacefully simply raising their baby daughter together with the help of Olivia, but old ghosts from the past cause the Queen-Wilson family to step out into the spotlight and leave peace behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally here! Sorry for taking so long to update. This is the longest chapter I've written, that's part of this took so long to update.  
> I threw a new original character in this chapter, along with a character that you wouldn't expect to be in a story about Green Arrow.  
> I hope you all enjoy.

* * *

"195, 196, 197..." Rose trails of counting her morning push-ups, glances to the right and smiles as baby Harper crawls to her. "198, 199..." She continues as Harper wiggles herself in-between the gap of Rose and the floor, Harper lays back and watches her mother with curiosity while she is propped up above her. Harper begins to play with loose strands of Rose's steel grey hair that is pulled back in a messy bun.

"200." Rose finishes her last push-up and on the way down comes in close to gently kiss Harper on the cheek causing her to give a little smile and giggle in return. Rose swears that she could listen to Harper giggle for an eternity as she hears Connor shout through the house.

"Girls, breakfast is ready."  

Rose sits up on her knees, scooping Harper in her muscular arms and stands to her feet. "What do you say my little daisy, shall we go have breakfast with papa and Olivia?"

"Ka." Harper says in agreement, Rose can't but smile as she admires that Harper is starting to make sounds.

Rose walks down the hallway with Harper resting on her shoulder  when she comes into the kitchen and spots Connor finishing cooking eggs before walking over to the table and serves the eggs on a plate, next to two other identical plates.

Connor places the frying pan in the sink, hearing Olivia greet Rose from her place at the table."Good morning, Rose. How did you sleep?"

"Good morning, kid. I slept well, or as well as can be expected when you have a crying six month old as your alarm clock that goes off about every half hour." Rose says with a tired chuckle.

Connor turns to face Rose, they both smile at each other as he walks toward holding a coffee mug for her. "I can attest to that, it is not easy. But that's we have coffee." He hands Rose her 'Do The Thing' mug with a kiss on her head before leaning down and kissing Harper as well. "Good morning."

"Good morning." Rose slips coffee to hide her blushing cheeks, she carefully hands Harper over to Connor. "Can you please feed Harper... I have coffee." Rose says sheepishly.

"Sure." Connor chuckles, carefully taking Harper in arms.

"Hi, how are you today, Harper?" He says softly to Harper with a small wave while placing her in the highchair, then goes over to the counter to pick up a plastic baby size bowl and spoon before sitting down and meeting Harper's gaze. Connor smiles at his daughter. "Alright Harper, for your dining pleasure we have..." He trails off, looking at the baby food in the bowl with confusion. He looks over to Rose. "Are you sure this is food, this doesn't look like food?"

Rose chuckles while leaning back against the counter. "Yes, it's food. I decided to buy something that's better for her. Just be sure to make airplane noises, she likes those."

Connor looks back into the bowl before looking up at Harper and continuing his sentence from earlier. "... Some red goop." He finishes lamely.

He begins to feed his daughter, making airplane engine noises to entertain her. Olivia stands from her chair and takes the finished plate to the sink before standing next to Rose. They both look at the two of fondly.

"Alright, I'm going record this." Rose chuckles as she takes her phone and begins recording video of Connor trying to feed Harper as she refuses to  be co-operative with him out of stubbornness.

"Send me a copy, I'll save it with the others." Olivia chuckles as well.

Connor gets frustrated and looks at Rose and Olivia for help. "Help me... anyone."

"No can do, big brother. I'd much rather see you suffer." Olivia says sarcastically with a mocking chuckle, Rose hands the phone over to her and steps toward Connor.

"You're killing me, smalls."

"I don't understand, what am I doing wrong? Do you think she likes me?" Connor asks sadly.

Rose pulls up a chair in front of Harper, sitting down right next to Connor, and grazing his arm. "She loves you, Connor. You're always the one who calms her down in the middle of the night when she cries by telling stories, not to mention all of the dirty diapers you take care of. We all have our strengths and weaknesses when it comes to Harper."

"One of my strengths is spoiling Harper with cute gifts she doesn't need, but I want her to have." Olivia pipes up in the background. 

Rose chuckles. "Yes, well my point is we have our strengths. This just isn't one of yours, but it doesn't that she is stubborn all the time, I think she gets it from both of us."

Rose gently places her hand on Connor arm, taking the spoon and bowl from the tray connected to highchair. "Here, let me help you." She smiles at Connor before turning to Harper and slowly beginning to feed her. "She's going to fight you, but you have to be persistent." She says, guiding a spoonful of food in Harper's mouth. Harper looks at Rose disgusted by the food before she spits it back at her.

"Ba!" Harper shout angrily at her mother.

"Don't you 'ba' me, young lady!"

Connor immediately covers his mouth to hide his laugh. "Looks like I'm not the only one who doesn't like the food, and did you just 'young lady' her?" He gets up from his chair as Rose gives an annoyed glare. Before he walks to the sink and turns on the water, leaning over to Olivia while wetting a wash cloth. "Please tell me you got all of that, smalls?"

"Yes, I did." Olivia says with a chuckle, still holding the phone.

"Thank you." Rose says to Connor once he returns and takes his seat again.

From there, Connor smiles at Rose as a plan forms in his head. "Why don't we feed Harper... together? I can keep her calm and entertained with funny faces long enough for you to feed her whatever is in that bowl."

Rose is quiet for a moment before smiling at him in "Yeah... together."

Olivia watches on with fondness as she records the whole thing, every hilarious disgusted face from Harper as she throws the food back at her parents, every annoyed reaction from Rose and Connor as they try to keep their cool. By the time they are finished feeding Harper, Connor and Rose share a exhausted look, but least their daughter is fed.

"I'll clean her if you clean the kitchen and do the dishes." Rose says, extending a hand.

"Deal." Connor says, shaking her hand.

Rose picks up Harper out of the highchair before kissing her head. "Lets get you cleaned up, huh." She goes over to Olivia to grab her phone and walks into another room to clean Harper.

Connor wipes down the tray while collecting the bowl and spoon along with all of the dishes scattered around the kitchen and walking over sink to begin washing them. 

Olivia walks over Connor. "Do you need any help?"

"No, I'm fine. Why don't you get ready for school so you're not late." 

Olivia shakes her head. "I don't have school today, it's a furlough day. I was going to work around the shop today."

Connor nods at his sister before turning his attention back to the dishes. He is halfway through when he overhears the stock report on the T.V in the background.

"...It has been over one year since the death of Oliver Queen, the former CEO of Queen Industries died in a fire that killed him and his wife. With whereabouts of their children still unknown, the stock remains in freefall under the disastrous leadership of acting CEO Micheal Emerson after he announced earlier this week that Queen industries would down size and become a subsidiary of Lodge Industries in their merger to take place later this month. This is another mistake made in long series of mistakes that has lead Queen Industries to this point, with everything that has happened over the past year one has to ask: is the Queen legacy over?"

Connor abruptly turns off the water and stomps into the bedroom, he brushes against Rose and Harper as they renter the kitchen, with Harper wearing a new set of clothes. 

Rose looks back as he closes the bedroom door behind him with a hard slams before looking at Olivia with an inquisitive expression. "What's his problem?" She asks, taking notice of the distress on Olivia's face when coming closer as the report finishes, then she sits down closely to Olivia and gently holds her hand to rouse her attention "You okay, kid?"

"Yeah..." Olivia says unconvincingly, wiping away tears. "It's we've all been so busy taking care of Harper over these past few months that... I forgot about the anniversary of the death of my parents. It's not a day I like to remember, but I can't believe I forgot. What kind of daughter does that?"

Rose gives Olivia's hand a reassuring squeeze. "It's no one's fault. Like you said, we've all been with busy with Harper that you and I haven't had time to do of things we used to." She looks down at Harper in her arms before looking back up at Olivia with a smile. "But if you would like, I can help you make an arraignment of flowers that we can place on their graves." 

Olivia takes a moment to breathe and sniff away her tears. "I'd like that, thank you Rose.... Can I hug you?"

"I suppose." Rose says before she hugs Olivia tightly with one arm, still holding Harper securely in the other.

They separate as Connor comes back into room, now wearing a black suit with a white dress shirt underneath and black dress shoes on his feet.

Rose and Olivia stand and approach Connor with confusion, Olivia is the first to speak up. "What's with the fancy duds?"

"I'm going to the office." Connor responds simply as he places the jacket on the counter.

Olivia looks back at Connor, now even more confused. "The office, wait, do you mean the Queen Industries offices?"

"Yes."

Rose look at Connor in shock and anger. "You can't be serious. You still haven't cleaned up from finishing the repairs on Harper's crib, there is a hammer and other tools scattered all over my bedroom floor and now you want to take back a company."

"You head the report, guys Queen Industries is dying under the leadership of Emerson. I'm going to take the company back and lead it in a new, better direction."

"Are you sure you wanna do this? I mean, you and Rose have been happy together these past six months raising Harper. Stepping out into the public eye will change all of that."

Connor walks over to Rose, moving in close and gently kissing and caressing Harper's head before answering Olivia. "Honestly, no. Leaving you, Rose and Harper is the absolute last I want to do, but it's not just about me anymore."

"Grandpa Robert began Queen Industries because he had a dream for himself and his family, and when he died he left a great legacy behind. A legacy that mom and dad continued, but... t-they're gone now." Connor says sadly with a twinge of regret

"In their absence, idiots have taken over and in the process tarnished their legacy, their memory. I will allow it to go on any further, not when it's the legacy of our family. The legacy of my daughter."

"Our daughter! As Harper's mother I want to be sure that our daughter's legacy will be safe and secure that's why I'm coming with you, besides someone's got to be there so you don't make a fool of yourself." 

"Are you sure? I mean it can be hard for mothers to leave their children for the first ti-"

Rose cuts Connor off with a decesive hand motion to be quiet. "I love Harper with all of my heart, so don't get me wrong when I say this, but she is ruining my life. Late night feedings and diaper changes is my life now, do you know how many toys I've tripped over? She cries ALL THE TIME and I can't handle it anymore. I need a break from her... at least for a little while, otherwise I will kill someone and you know who first on my list?"

"Bob Saget?"

"Yep."

"Am I ever going to understand why?"

"It's better if you don't."

Connor chuckles and smiles, knowing he won't win this argument. "Rose, would you like to come to office with me? I would love to have your support."

Rose chuckles as well, shaking his happy smile. "Yes, I would. Thank you for asking. Just give a few minutes to change my clothes."

She looks over to Olivia with a very serious expression while coming closer with Harper "Olivia, do you promise to look after Harper today? I have food in the fridge for both of you, just remember to put the child safety locks back on the fridge, along with of the other objects after you're done using them. It's very simple, all you need to is devote 100 percent of your time and energy to make sure that she is happy and safe, easy peasy."

Olivia chuckles and meets Rose halfway placing a hand on her shoulder. "I promise. If you are serious about this, I suggest we look over our parent's last will and testament to be sure that you have the legal right to take back the company... and do you even have a tie to wear?" 

Connor looks down at his chest for a second before looking back at Olivia and shaking his head, it's almost embarrassing how he looks more ready to party at nightclub than take back a multi-million dollar business empire. "No, there are no ties here, so I had to go with what I had."

"Because you're oldest I always knew that you would take over the company first, so I bought you a little present the last time I was out shopping with Harper..." Olivia trails off for a second, looking at her backpack. "Rose, would you mind? I think you're going to like this bit."

Rose nods before handing Harper to Olivia, then she goes over to Olivia's backpack and after a few seconds of rummaging, she finds the gift that Olivia mentioned, luaghing hysterically as she turns and presents the gift to Connor that is a pink necktie with yellow rubber ducks.

Rose and Olivia continue to laugh hysterically while Connor looks at the tie in shock and disbelief. "You don't actually expect me to go down there wearing this? I'm trying to be taken seriously."

"Oh yes I do, and do you want to know why?" Olivia asks smugly with an expression to m.

"Why?"

"Your daughter wants you to." Olivia holds Harper up as Rose comes close and presents the tie to her. "Shall we test it."

Harper immediately gives a little giggle as she reaches out and brushes the tie with her tiny hand. "Du..."  

And with that giggle, Connor huffs in defeat knowing he has lost because he loves Harper and he would anything for his baby girl. "You win, smalls." Connor smiles walking over to Olivia with Harper in her arms, he takes the tie before giving Harper a gentle kiss on the cheek. "The things I do for my girls." 

* * *

 An hour later, Connor and Olivia are standing in the flower shop going over the rules again for the fifth time in as many minutes. "Okay, Rose and I will be back by 5:30, 6 at the very latest. Do you have everything that you need? Do you remember the number for 911?" He asks with a worried look, without realizing his mistake.

"Dude, seriously?" Olivia asks with raised eyebrow.

"He's just being through." Rose descends the stairs with Harper in one securely in one arm and a large briefcase in the other, wearing combat boots, blue jeans, a  green utility jacket a with grey hood attached and a white long sleeve t-shirt underneath with her hair pulled back in a tight ponytail.

Connor stares at Rose confused as she approaches. "Hey, is that my jacket?

"Yep, and I'm keeping it. Consider it a trade, I have a gift for you." Rose trails off, presenting the case to Connor.

Connor eye's goes wide as he realizes what the case means, then he leads Rose out of earshot of Olivia and  gives Rose a sad look before speaking. "Rose, is that I think it is? Are you expecting a fight? 

"No, but if being a new parent has taught me anything, it's you can never be too prepared. Rose says, smiling down at Harper her in arms. "Olivia is right. If we step out into the public eye, enemies will come after us... our family." She says while glancing over at Olivia with a fond smile. "I need your help to protect them, and you can't very well do that in a suit and tie, so I made you this."

Connor gulps down his fear as places the case on the counter, clicks the latches and opens it to reveal Rose's Ravager armor in the top half of the case and a new version of Connor's Green Arrow armor in the bottom half of the case.

Connor looks into the case with disbelief like he's experiencing a vision of his father. "It's an old version of my father's armor, he must have left it behind when my family moved to the mansion."

"Yes, it is. I started this project six months ago when you came back. Using my resources and money as an assassin, I refurbished it and made some much needed improvements to the armor and the compound bow to suit your style." Rose's smile fades, noticing the distress on Connor's face. "Do you like it?" 

"It's perfect... thank you. But the last time I took up a bow and put on my Green Arrow armor... was the night I asked you to prom. Connor says shakily, "It seems like lifetimes ago now... I don't if I can be Green Arrow again"

Rose takes Connor's hand as it begins to shake from nerves. "This isn't just about the suit, is it?"

"No..." Connor hangs his head in shame 

"What's wrong?" Olivia walks over suddenly and Connor abruptly shuts the case, blocking her view from what's inside.

"It's fine, I'm just nervous." Connor tries to brush his sister off, but Rose gives Olivia a knowing glance.

"Connor..." Olivia says while taking his arm and leading him away so they can speak privately. "Hey, bro." She repeats. "Talk to me."

Connor shuts his eyes tightly and takes a few shaky breaths before he opens his eyes again, but the vision of his parents don't fade away.. "I don't know if I can be the person mom and dad wanted me to be, I don't know if I'll ever be."

"You won't be." Olivia states simply, but her tone is soft and warm. "And that's okay, just be the person that you want to be. Be the person you that Harper, Rose and I see you as. You are the son of Oliver Queen, but more importantly you are William Connor Queen. Show the people at Queen Industries who you are, and that you mean business... If that fails, remember what dad always use to say?"

"Smile and sell it." They embrace each other in a tight hug. "Thank you, Olivia... are you sure you don't want to come us today because that was one hell of a speech, much better than any speech I could give."

Olivia chuckles as they separate before looking at her shop fondly. "No, someone has to watch Harper and keep this place from burning down." She glances over at the clock on the wall to notice the time is 8:37 A.M. "Speaking of which, I have to open the store soon and you guys leave so you're not late." 

Connor takes another deep breath. "Yeah... it's time." 

They walk back over to Rose while she is looking at Harper as if she was the only other person in the world. "Rose... are you okay?" Connor asks softly, placing a hand on Rose's shoulder.

Rose looks at him with fresh tears in her eyes. "No, I'm not okay. I was lying about what I said earlier about coming with you to see where our daughter's legacy is headed, I just was trying to give myself a reason to make it easier to leave her. I don't care about our daughter's future or legacy yet, I just want to be with her now. I want to help you get your family company back into the proper hands, but I don't know if I can leave her."

Connor immediately steps closer to Rose, smiling at Harper as he takes her in his arms and wiping Rose's tears away. "I know... it's okay, Rose. We don't have to do this today, I don't want to leave her either."

Olivia gives a frustrated sigh, practically shoving Connor and Rose towards the door. "But you're going to, because I'm kicking you two out of the house and kidnaping your daughter for the day so she can have a fun with auntie Olivia."

Connor and Rose look at Olivia with shock and disbelief as she folds her arms and gives them with a slightly angry and annoyed expression before she sighs again. "Look guys... I love you both and I completely understand why you don't want to leave, but you guys have been away from the world for far too long. it's time for guys to live your lives again, it's time for you to become productive members of society again."

"Wait, we were supposed to be productive members of society? Well, I've been doing it all wrong." Connor jokes. 

"Alright, alright, we'll do it." Rose gives a light chuckle before she looks at Olivia with concern. "Are you sure you're going to be okay taking care of Harper on your own. Remember to call us immediately if you run into problems and if Harper gets too rowdy put her to sleep by singing Nirvana songs to her, Come As You Are is her favorite. I just changed her, so that shouldn't be a problem, but in cas-"

Olivia cuts Rose off before she can finish the sentence. "Yes, I remember what to do, it's not like I can forget about the day you and Connor showed me. That was a bad day for all of us."

Rose chuckles again. "Come here, kid." They wrap each other in a tight hug. "I love you, both of you. Please look after my little daisy and be good, okay. We can put flowers on your parent's graves when I get home."

"Thank you, I'll have them ready for us."

"We have to go." Connor says softly not to startle Rose as she and Olivia separate.

"Right..." 

Both parents give Harper a kiss on the head before Connor carefully hands her over to Olivia and they smile at each other before Harper begins to play with Olivia's blonde hair.

Connor holds opens the front door for Rose while she steps over the threshold into the world, he turns to Olivia and smiles. "I love you both. Thank you, Olivia."

"Knock 'em dead."

He nods and takes the briefcase before leaving the shop, flipping the 'closed' sign to 'open' as he shuts door behind him. Olivia takes a deep breath, pushing down her fear as she stares at the closed door in front of her before looking down at Harper with a smile "What do say Harper, shall we see what kind of trouble we can get into?"

* * *

"I don't want to do this, I thought I did, but I just want go back home to Olivia and Harper." Connor turns to Rose with a scared expression as they sit in the front seat of the car outside of the Queen Industries building as they have been for the last five minutes.

"I know, me too. But we've made it this far, might as well suck it up and go in there. Now, let me fix your tie." Rose reaches over the console and straightens his rubber duck tie, making Connor look older than he actually is.

Connor turns and looks at the drop down mirror to make sure that he looks professional, but he sighs, noticing the scruffy beard that has been on his face for months. "I should've shaved." He says with a shakily unsure tone.

Rose laughs, putting a loving hand on Connor's cheek. "Maybe, but the beard makes you look older, more sophisticated."

He gives a little chuckle. "I don't know how sophisticated I'll be when I go in there wearing a pink rubber duck tie."

"Do you want to take it off?"

Connor shakes his head and smiles. "Definitely not."

"Good, do you have the legal documents that you need?"

Connor nods before presenting the briefcase that holds all of the documents he needs to take over leadership of Queen Industries. He takes a moment of silence to breathe before Rose grips his hand.

"Are you ready?" 

Connor shakes his head again. "No, but I don't see my nerves going away anytime time soon, so let's do this." They slowly step out of the car closing and locking the doors behind. He buttons his suit jacket as he meets Rose on the curb, Rose hands over the briefcase over before taking Connor's hand.

"I'm with you all the way."

"Thank you." Connor says sincerely to Rose as they begin to walk into the large building together. He is in awe as they enter the building, taking in all of the sights and sounds of his surroundings, from the sight of hundreds of people walking across the lobby, to the clicking sound his shoes make with every step he takes on the granite floor beneath him, and even an elementary school teacher leading her class on field trip.

"There." Rose brings Connor out of a daze by squeezing his hand and pointing to the lobby receptionist at the desk just few feet in front of them.

Connor lets of Rose's hand and walks to the receptionist desk at a quick nervous pace, then his eyes go wide as he nearly collides with a young handicapped boy in a wheelchair as the boy passes in front of him. 

"I'm sorry. My mistake, I wasn't watching where I was going." Connor says apologetically to the boy as he turns to face him.

The boy waves him off with a smile, noticing his absurd tie. "Don't worry about it, man. We're cool... nice tie."

"Thank you." Connor says while taking notice of how the boy looks to be few years younger than Olivia, seeming around ten years old with fair skin, messy brown hair and eyes to match.

The boy is about to speak again, but is cut off when someone calls his name. "Sam! Keep up with me, please." Says a young woman to his right. The woman seems to be the same age as Connor.

"Sorry Veronica." Sam smiles and nods at the young woman before turning back to face Connor. "Well, have a nice day."

"You too." Connor watches the boy wheel himself over to rejoin the young woman before turning back to Rose who is standing off to side, waiting for him. He takes Rose's hand as they walk over the desk.

The receptionist smiles at them. "Hello, what can I do for you two?"

"Hi." Connor smiles politely at the receptionist as he places the case on the desk, opens it and takes out the documents for the receptionist to look at. He takes one last deep breath. "Hello, my name is William Connor Queen, I am the son of Oliver Queen and the rightful heir to the Queen empire."

The receptionist looks back at Connor with mixture of shock and confusion while Connor looks back at her confidently, despite his hand shaking from nerves. The receptionist looks through the legal documents provided by Connor for any legitimacy to who he is. After a few minutes, the receptionist smiles at Connor handing the documents back to him. "Welcome, Mr. Queen. What can I do for you?"

"Thank you. I would like to call a meeting with the CEO and other members of board to discuss the future of my family's company."

"Right away, why don't you have a seat while I let the board know you are here." Once Connor and Rose are out of earshot, the receptionist quickly and frantically grabs the phone on the desk to call the CEO, Michael Emerson. "Sir, you would not believe who I have in the lobby."

Connor takes a deep breath settling into leather material of a chair he is sitting in that does nothing to calm him down until Rose sits down next to him and takes his hand. "You're doing well. How are you feeling?" She asks, giving a soft smile.

"Well, I haven't thrown up yet, but the day's still young, so who knows what might happen."

They both share a laugh, then she squeezes his hand. "That's good, this day will be over before we know it, then we can get back home.

"Hey, can we get ice cream on the way home?" Connor asks with a wide eyed childlike expression on his face.

"Ice cream, seriously?" Rose asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, whenever I came to the office with my parents as a young child they would take for ice cream as a reward for sitting through boring business meetings with them."

"Sure, we can do that." Rose chuckles, remembering how young she and Connor still are despite everything they have been through together, but to the outside world they are still seen as naïve, stupid kids. She is called out of her thoughts when someone calls Connor's name from behind them.

"William, is that you?" Michael Emerson approaches Connor and Rose with an obvious fake smile on his face to match the fake tan on his skin. Emerson is a man in his late forties with salt and pepper hair, he is a few years older than Oliver, judging by the wrinkles on his face.

Connor rises from his chair, turns to face Emerson with an out stretched hand to greet him, there's aloud clap that sounds like thunder when their hands meet. "Connor please, it's good to see you, Emerson." Both men stare the other down as the handshake continues. Connor is the first to break, intimidated by the commanding presence of the older man.

"Well... Mr. Queen, I'm surprised you're here. I had to cancel a meeting with someone, but the other board members are waiting for us in the conference room in your father's office, if you'll please follow me." Emerson gestures to the elevator for Connor to follow.

Emerson notices Rose as the three of them walk to elevator, he puts a hand out to stop her from going any further. "I am sorry miss, but this is a private meeting."

Rose's anger rises in her chest as she prepares to hit Emerson squarely in the jaw, but Connor gently grips her hand to stop her. "I need her. She's is my security, a bodyguard."

"And you trust her?" Emerson asks with a skeptical look.

Connor smiles at Rose. "I trust her with my life."

"Very well." Emerson huffs in defeat when they all step onto the elevator. Rose blushes as she mouths 'thank you' to Connor as the doors close.

After the world's most awkward elevator ride, Emerson speaks as they walk to conference room. "Well Connor, I'll be the first person to say that I am glad you are here, I can't wait to discuss your future at the company." When they reach the door, the fake smile returns to Emerson face when holding the door for Connor and Rose to step through with eagerness. 

Connor's eyes go wide in shock when seeing every member of the board is dead in their chairs with bullets shot into their heads so carelessly. He turns back to Emerson with pure anger in his eyes. "EMERSON! WHAT IS THIS?!"

Emerson's smile forms into devilish smirk as he turns to Rose. "Did you kids really think you could live peacefully in that hole you call a home and your father wouldn't notice?" He pulls remote from his pocket and presses the button that activates the time bombs hidden around the room.

Rose quickly grabs Connor's hand, pushes past Emerson as they run out into the hallway trying to get a safe distance away before the bombs explode. She barely has time to shield him as the room behind them erupts in a giant fireball explosion. 

* * *

Five minutes earlier.

"Sam! Keep up with me please." Says Sam's sister while impatiently tapping her foot.

"Sorry Veronica." Sam smiles and nods at his sister before he turns back to face Connor. "Well, have a nice day."

"You too." Sam hears Connor say to him before he wheels himself over to rejoin his sister.

Veronica kneels down to be eye level with the boy. "Sam! What did I tell you about running off on your own like that?"

"Seriously me, a runner?" Sam chuckles, gesturing at himself sitting in his wheelchair.

Veronica chuckles. "You know what I mean. Now, let me fix your hair so you look presentable for our meeting with the CEO. This is not how a Lodge should present himself." She frantically reaches over to fix her brother's hair, but Sam gently grips her hand.

"Ronnie, would you please calm down. I hate it when you nervous like this, it's not how a Lodge should present herself. Everything is going to be fine, come on we have a meeting to get to." Sam wheels himself pass his sister, but Veronica grabs the handle on the back of his wheelchair and pulls him back to face her.

"Hold on." Veronica leans down to click the wheelchair's seatbelt in place over Sam's lap. "You need to be more careful, did you think I didn't see how you nearly collided with that man in that tacky tie."

"Sorry, Ronnie. I'm just excited to be here, mom and dad never took me on business trips."

"I know Sammy, but they're gone now. You are all I have left... just be careful." Sam nods at his sister before she smiles and wheels him over to reception desk. 

The siblings stare at the receptionist until she looks up at them from her computer, then Veronica smiles politely before speaking. "Hello, we are here for a 10 A.M meeting with Michael Emerson, it should be under Lodge."

"I'm sorry Ms. Lodge, but Mr. Emerson was just called into a last minute meeting with someone, he has to cancel. I can show the best times to reschedule or you can wait for Mr. Emer-"

Veronica puts a hand out to stop her. "Don't bother, we'll wait! Come along, Sam." Veronica storms off in anger and Sam gives the receptionist a friendly wave before following his sister as she sits down in a nearby chair. "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! I have been trying to be taken seriously as a business woman by working on the final stages merger for months, and now some idiot comes sauntering in to disrupt it all..." Veronica trails off when she looks at Sam, his eyes dart around the room as he takes in his surroundings with awe and wonder.

She takes money out of her purse and hands it to him with a smile. "Hey, it seems like we're going to be here a while, why don't you get a snack. I saw a vending machine somewhere on the third floor the last time I came here, maybe go explore a little bit, but don't go very far."

"Thank you." Sam examines the money and puts it in his pocket before racing off down the hall.

"And get me some Twizzlers!" Veronica shouts as an afterthought.

Three minutes later, Sam stares blankly through the glass of the vending machine as a package of Twizzlers falls to the bottom of it. He leans over in his wheelchair and collects the candy into his pocket, he turns away from the vending machine just as hears a loud distant rumble coming from floors above him, then the sharp piercing sound of the fire alarm going off followed by the raining sensation of the sprinklers.

As the hallway erupts in a chain of fiery explosions, Sam begins to panic because he can't quite remember where he's wondered off and doesn't know if he can back to his sister safely. He happens to wander into a nearby Queen Industries science lab, he feels heat as more explosions come closer to his position.

Sam knows the best chance he has for survival is to abandon the restrictions of his bulky wheelchair and dive for cover, but he forgets he's still buckled in tightly. He is able to jump away from his wheelchair just as it's too late and the explosion hits him like a bolt of lighting, causing Sam to fly backward into a tall shelf of various chemicals shatter and spill on him as he slips into unconsciousness. 

* * *

Connor is first to wake, his eyes adjust slowly to sight of Rose lying unconscious on his chest, still so beautiful with a layer of ash on her face. "Rose..." He coughs out weakly.

"Rose?" He asks again more firmly, lightly slaps her face in effort to wake her, but he is only met with Rose subconsciously giving him an upward sucker punch.

"Ugh, what the hell was that for?" He jerks up in pain while holding his nose, causing Rose to finally wake up.

"Sorry, it's a reflex. I thought you were attacking me." Rose says with a sheepish grin while slowly rising to her feet. "Are you okay?"

"Well, I was just sucker punched by my best friend, but other than that I'm great." Connor slowly stands to his feet and collects the undamaged briefcase just a foot away. They re-enter the now destroyed conference room, them Connor immediately walks over to the big gaping hole in the side of the building and glances outside to see emergency services are on the scene.

Rose kneels down beside Emerson's brunt corpse and check to feel a pulse on his neck. "Emerson's dead, we have to get out here."

"No!" Connor turns face Rose, putting the briefcase on what remains of the table. "We have to help! Most peple think this was caused by a series of gas explosions and will follow the signs to the nearest exit. We have to find the stragglers and get them to safety. So, we split up, you take the south and east side of the building, I'll take the north and west going floor by floor until we meet again on the street."

He opens the case and removes the false panels that hides what is truly inside. He slowly loosens his tie. "Sorry Harper, Mommy and I have gotta go to work!"

After a few minutes, Connor adjust his Green Arrow cowl onto his head,  completing his armor before he grabs the compound bow from the case before he turns to Rose, who is already in her Ravager armor.

"How do I look?" He can't help it when a smile comes across his face as he wears a long sleeve black undershirt and pants, a green torso plate and shoulder pads with brown accents on the stomach to match the arm gauntlets, green knee guards that extend into boots.

"Badass!" Rose says, blushing like a teenager again.

Connor pulls the hood over his head and grabs an arrow from the quiver on his back and loads it on the bow string before looking over at Rose with a childlike smile. "You ready?"

Rose smiles back at him like they're heroes for the first time again as she slips the Ravager cowl on her head. "Yeah, lets do this!"

She leads the way down the hallway with Connor closely following her from behind. They are quickly set upon by three militia soldiers sent to kill them with machine guns, Connor quickly fires arrows to distract them while Rose moves in to attack, Connor wraps his arms around Rose's stomach and picks her up to drop kick a solider that transforms into a hook kick takedown. 

One of the soldiers is foolish enough to throw a punch at Connor, which he dodges easily before twisting the soldiers striking arm in his bow, then he gives solider a cheeky smile as his elbow comes down on the soldier's extended arm with enough force to break it. The soldier drops to his knees in pain before Connor knocks him out with a hit from his bow.They spot the last soldier slowly rising off the ground. "You missed one." Connor fires an arrow at the soldier a few feet away.

"No, I didn't." Rose quickly picks a discarded arrow off the floor and does a front flip kick, throwing the arrow at soldier while in midair then the arrows pierce through each of the man's shoulders, pinning him to the wall.

Connor looks at Rose impressed with a love struck smile. "Remind me to teach you how to use this thing." He jokes while holding up his bow.

Rose chuckles while blushing. "I'd like that, but for right now we need to focus because I doubt these soldiers will be the last that we'll encounter."

"Right, sorry. We stick to the plan, get as many people to safety as we can and take down these guys in the process. From now on, we use code names and com links, I'll be Red One and you'll be Red Two." Connor jokes again.

Rose shoots Connor an annoyed glare, not in the mood for his jokes right now. "No, Ravager and Green Arrow. Got it."

"Yes ma'am."

"Good." Rose begins to walk off in another direction, but stops when Connor gently grips her arm. She turns back to face him, taking notice of his scared expression and hoping he doesn't see her own under her cowl.

"Rose..." Connor knows he has to say something, he can't leave things unspoken like last time. "Just... be careful." It's not what he wanted to say, but his words say enough.

Rose seems to understand what he wanted to say as she leans in close and kisses Connor's cheek. "You too."

* * *

Sam wakes slowly, his vision is blurry and unable to focus on anything but vague colors and shapes like the orange color of the fire that surrounds him, and the massive black figure that is closing in on him from a distance. He sits up and tries to speak, but is only able to cough as smoke fills his lungs. It's only when the figure stands arms lengths away and pulls out a handgun, aiming it at his head does Sam realize he is about to die.

He tries to be brave in his final moments as he feels the sting of tears steaming down his cheeks. His thoughts are running at a mile a minute, he wonders if dying will hurt, they say it's quicker than falling asleep. He wonders if he'll ever be able to see his sister again, most of all, Sam wonders if Veronica will able to cope with the death of her baby brother considering all that they already lost.

Thwack! 

Sam expects to dead, he should be dead, but he's not. He's alive! Sam opens his eyes with confusion very present in expression as he tries his best to comprehend the sights around him. The sight of the soldier that threatened to end his life now knocked out beside him, a boxing glove at his feet, and the Green Arrow standing in front of him.

"Boxing glove arrow, never fails!" Connor says confidently while smiling before turning to Sam and extending a hand out. "Hello, I'm here to help."

Sam seems to forget the danger in room as he desperately crawls away from Connor into the corner. "STAY AWAY! DON'T COME NEAR ME!" Sam cries, burying his head in knees.

"Please, let me help. I'm one of the good guys." Connor approaches slowly, trying to keep Sam calm

"No, you're just like one of them!"

"I swear to you, I'm not." Connor says softly, raising his hands in surrender.

"How do know if I can trust you?"

Connor looks over at the soldier he just knocked out, he's dressed in all black tactical gear with a black ski mask and helmet hiding any emotion from his face. The kid must have been so scared and needs something to show trust, so Connor crouches down to be eye level with the boy, placing his bow the floor and taking down his hood before removing the cowl from his head. "Hello, my name is Connor Queen and I'm here to help."

"Connor...?" Sam lifts his head from his knees to see Connor smiling at him.

"Yes, that's my name. You're the boy from lobby, right? I think I caught your name was 'Sam'?"

"Yeah..."

"Are you hurt?" Connor asks with concern, his eyes quickly scanning Sam for injuries.

Sam looks down at his body in shock. He took the brunt of that explosion, his body should be badly burned, he should be dead. But he's not, he's alive. "No..."

Connor nods. "Alright Sam, I know you're scared, I am too. But right now I need you to focus and be brave, that's why I'm giving you my mask." He says while presenti his cowl to Sam.

"Your mask?" Sam asks, breathlessly.

"Yes, my mask. This mask gives whoever wears it the ability to confront and overcome even the worst of our fears. That's why so many of us superheroes wear a mask because we're afraid. My mask has always helped me overcome my fears and now it will help you, Sam."

"Okay..." The young boy takes the cowl and places it on his head. "How do I look?"

Connor smiles with a chuckle while observating how the cowl is oversized on his head. "Good, now what do say we get you out of here?" He picks his bow off of the floor and stands to feet before extending a hand to Sam.

"Wait! What about my wheelchair?"

Connor looks over to see Sam's wheelchair completely destroyed by the explosion, sighing as he turns back to Sam. "I'm sorry, but your chair has been destroyed by the fire. So, I need to carry you out of here." Connor leans down and holds his arms out, but Sam blocks him from taking any action.

"No, I have Cerebral Palsy. I can walk with the help of my walker, I just need support for long distances. That's why I had my wheelchair."

Connor helps Sam stand to his feet. "Lean on me, I'll lead us out of here." Sam puts an arm around Connor's shoulder and they slowly walk out of the room into the hallway, down a nearby stairwell only to realize that the stairwell is completely blocked by debris. 

Rose stands down in the lobby, helping usher civilians out of the building when she hears Connor speak through the earpiece. "Ravager, I'm near the northwest stairwell on the third floor, but it's blocked by heavy debris. I have a civilian with me and I need you to lead us out of here."

She walks out of the building, looking up to see a window on the third floor near Connor's position. "Okay, can you make it to a large window? From there, you'll have to jump."

"Got it, see you soon."

Connor turns his attention back to Sam. "Do you trust me because I have good news and bad news. The good news is I found us an exit, the bad news is that the 'exit' isn't really an 'exit', but a window... So, there's that."

Sam sighs. "Yeah sure, why not? It's on my bucket list anyway." He says sarcastically.

"That's the spirit! Now, follow me."

When they reach the large window, Connor peeks outside to see Rose helping paramedics tend to the injured and one woman pacing frantically on the sidewalk. They share a smile before he speaks into the earpiece. "Hey beautiful, I need you to tell everyone to stand back. I'm going need to break a window."

Rose nods before she ushers everyone away from the sidewalk, even having to hold back a woman who is desperately trying to get back into the building. "Please, let me through, my brother is in there!" Veronica cries, thrashing against  Rose while she is trying to hold her back.

"Geez lady, you're a lot stronger than Olivia." Rose says to herself, under her breath.

Back up in building, Connor sits Sam against the wall to rest before sitting down next to him. "You're doing great, Sam. How you holding up?"

He takes a few deep breaths before answering with an undertone of fear. "Good, my sister is going to kill me when she sees the state of my clothes though." Sam gives a little chuckle while looking down at his tattered and torn coat and tie. "I miss her, she's always been looking out for me ever since our parents brought me home from adoption services as a baby. I hope I'll be able to see her again."

Connor stands to feet, glancing out the window to see Veronica being held back by Rose. " In that case, we better get you out of here soon before your sister charges into the building to save you herself."

"I'd love nothing more." Sam says with a hearty chuckle.

"Good, cover your ears because it's going to get loud."

Sam cover his hands over his ears and Connor holds a hand in front of the window and produces a sonic wave blast enough to shatter the glass before reaching into his quiver and pulling out an arrow with a two way cable, hooking the line to ceiling before shooting the arrow into the street below to make a zip line.

Connor pulls his hood over his head before turning back to Sam and helping him up. "Alright Sam, you ever been zip lining?"

"No" 

"You're going like this bit. What I need you to do is put your arms around my neck and don't let go."  Sam wraps his arms around Connor's neck tightly while he tests the strength of the line one final time before they jump out of the building and zip down to the street, Sam hoots and hollers with excitement all the way down. 

"Sam, are you okay?" Connor asks as their feet touch the ground.

"I'm fine, Con- ... I mean, I'm fine Mr. Arrow sir." Sam announces the last part loudly in effort to conceal Connor's identity.

Connor shakes his head with a chuckle as he leads Sam over to a stretcher so the paramedics can begin examining his injuries. "It's okay, just call me Green Arrow... and you can keep the mask."

"Really?!" Sam asks in shock while laying back.

Sam attempts to take off the cowl and give it back to Connor, but he waves Sam off with a smile. "No, I want you to keep it, consider it a souvenir. Now, let the paramedics check for any injuries." He says before fading into the background.

The paramedic have barely the examination before Veronica shouts and pushes her way through the dense crowd, desperate to reach Sam. "Move please, move please, get out of my way! Do you know who I am?!"  Veronica angrily points a finger at a cop who won't let her through.

"It's okay, she's my sister." Sam opens his arms wide, ready to receive Veronica in a hug.

Veronica runs forward and wraps her brother in a tight hug as Sam sits up and wraps an arm around her back. They separate and Veronica holds Sam's face in her hands, her eyes filled with concern. "Sammy, Sammy are you okay? I was so worried... what are you wearing?" She  says, taking notice of the cowl on his head.

In response, Sam pulls the candy he bought earlier from his pocket and presents it to her with a smile. "I got Twizzlers, I thought we could share."

Veronica looks at the candy in shock before wrapping Sam in another tight hug. "Of course, Sammy." She says with tears in her eyes now that her brother is safe.

Connor watches from the background with a fond smile as Rose walks up beside him and gently takes his hand, drawing his attention to her. "Hi." He says softly, smiling at her like she's the only person there.

"Hi." Rose says softly to him while doing the same. "You were right, most people followed the fire exits signs. I picked up a few stragglers along the way, but I think we got everyone out of the building safely. I also heard over the coms. What you did for that young boy, giving your cowl to the boy so you could get him out of the building. It was nice."

Connor smiles when thinking about his herorics of the day. "Yeah sorry, I know you worked hard on putting that armor together for me."

"It's okay, I'll beat you later." She says in joking manner while kissing his cheek again.

Connor smile fades before his tone turns sad and he bows his head. "I gave him my cowl because he was afraid. I knew I could get him to safety, if I could just reassure him that he was safe. I gave him hope. I give hope to others and keep none for myself, that's what heroes are supposed to do." 

Rose gently places a hand on Connor's cheek, guiding his face until their eyes meet. "You don't really believe that, do you?" She looks at Connor with sadness in her eyes.

Connor turns to face the destroyed Queen Industries building behind him. "This is my legacy." He gestures to building with a shaky hand. "When I was a young, I was told stories of the great Oliver Queen and Dinah Laurel Lance and their great legacy. A legacy I knew that I one day inherit. So, that's what I hoped to do today. I hoped to prove that I was worthy of my legacy, I hoped to make the memories of ghosts proud..."

Connor trails off, giving a sad chuckle and hanging his head in shame. "... And I failed."

Rose comes close and places a hand under Connor's chin, guiding it upward until their eyes meet once again. "Nothing that happened today is on you."

"I know, but someone has to take the blame. Might as well be me."

Rose shakes her head. "No, you did this to yourself, shortly after Harper was born, I forgave you. Don't do this yourself again. You're a good person, be good for me, be good for Olivia and be good for Harper. Promise me damn it"

Connor smiles weakly as Rose wipes his tears away with her thumb. "I promise."

"Good! Speaking of which, we should get home, Olivia and Harper are probably worried about us." Rose says as they separate, but they still stick close to one another.

"Yeah, I got 13 voicemail messages from Olivia."

"What?" Rose asks with a shaky tone, her eyes widen in fear immediately.

Connor puts a hand on Rose's shoulder to lessen her fear. "She probably saw the news reports and got worried, she's just calling to check up on us. I'm going give a call and tell her we're on our way home." He says while glancing over to Veronica and Sam. "While I'm doing that, can you give them this." He give a piece of paper with his phone number on it to Rose. "Tell them if they ever need anything to give me a call.

Rose nods and watches Connor walks away to call Olivia before turning and walking toward Veronica and Sam.  "Miss..?" She says softly to Veronica, trying not to startle her.

"What is it?! We are not to be bothered!" Veronica says angrily before turning around and realizing who it is. "Oh, it's you. I'm sorry... where's your friend? I want to thank him for saving my brother."

"He had to step away to deal with something privately, but he wanted me to give this." Rose hands the piece of paper over to Veronica. "He said if you guys ever need anything to give him a call."

Veronica quickly exams the paper and drops it in her pocket. "Thank you, and I'm sorry about crying on you earlier."

Rose just waves her off playfully, thinking about Harper. "It's fine. I've got a baby at home, so I'm pretty used to crying."

Veronica nods. "Thank you and nice day."

"You too." Rose says with a friendly wave before walking back to meet Connor.

She smiles when she sees Connor walking back toward her. But he's different now, he's stumbling, his pace is shaky and uneven. He finally collapses into his knees as he reaches her. She is immediately down by his side, holding him close and pulling down his hood to get a better look at his at face. "Connor! What's happened!? Please, tell me what's happened!?" She shouts desperately. fearing the worse has happened to him or their family.  

Connor gives Rose such a look that tells her exactly what has happened.

"Oh no. Please, not again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cliffhanger, but I had to split this chapter into two parts because it's that long.  
> Hopefully, I made Connor seem like less of a twat.  
> I modeled Veronica after the one in the Riverdale t.v. show.  
> Did everyone catch the hints about Sam?
> 
> Thank you all for reading. It's 2:00 in the morning and I need to sleep.  
> Thank you.


	6. The Kids Are Not Alright.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Rose does the unthinkable, she and Connor must pick up the pieces of their lives in a desperate search for answers. Secrets will be revealed while new and old allies emerge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, while writing this chapter I saw that this series has been read by over 100 people so I just want give a very sincere thank you to everyone who is reading this series, it honestly warms my heart to know that people are enjoying the story so far and I hope I can keep entertaining you all.
> 
> Second of all, this is the longest chapter I've written so far. SHIT goes down and that means angst and violence, just a heads up.  
> I threw in a few easter eggs, surprise characters and cameos along with a hint to my next fan fiction idea as apart of this Legacy universe that I'm trying to build, see if you can spot it.
> 
> Third of all, feel free to leave comments. I want to have a dialogue and I love it when you guys leave comments

* * *

Rose is desperately trying to focus on getting home to Olivia and her baby girl, but her focus is divided on driving with tears in her eyes, and trying to keep a completely distraught Connor calm while he moves restlessly in the passenger seat as the car roars down the street.

"IT WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN! I WILL NOT LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN!" Connor says angrily at himself, clutching his bow in his hand.

Rose quickly pulls into the parking spot next to the flower shop as Connor's feet touch the ground before the car has come to a stop and he breaks into a full on sprint to the entrance, barely registering when Rose calls his name.

"CONNOR, STOP!"

Rose's words cause Connor to stop abruptly and wait for her to catch up to him. He turns around and meets Rose's worried gaze with his own. "It's happening again, what if I can't save them? What if this ends like last time?" He asks quietly, his expression is a mixture of grief and worry.

Rose comes close and places a gentle hand on Connor's cheek. " It won't, and I know you're scared, but we will save them. Right now I need you to focus, I can't have you dying on me because you didn't come up with a plan. I need you." Her voice is thick with emotion, Connor then realizes that Rose is just as distraught as he is.

Connor gives a shaky nod. "Wha-  what's our plan?"

"Same as we did today. We move through the house, going floor by floor, room by room until we find the bastard to who dares to come into my house and hurt my kids. I'll take the lead, you cover me from behind."

"And once we find the bastard, what do we do?" Connor asks, loading an arrow onto the bow string.

"I don't know." Rose says very coldly while walking to the entrance, she can feel anger swell in her chest as she takes notice that the front door is slightly ajar with the lock is completely busted from the outside. Unable to hold anger in any longer, Rose kicks the front door in before cautiously walking inside while Connor closely follows her from behind.

The house is quiet, a peaceful quiet, a eerie quiet, and that's what worries them when they first walk into the shop. They are in completely shock as they take in the sights and sounds around them, the destroyed flower displays, the scuff marks and blood on the wooden floors that show clear signs of a struggle, the sound glass from broken lightbulbs crunching beneath their boots, and the setting sun providing any sort of light and comfort while they make their way up the stairs to the second floor.

They push down their fear and try to focus on the task at hand while Rose slowly opens the old creaky door, the apartment looks to have gotten the same destructive treatment as the shop downstairs. Connor runs past Rose toward the source of light coming beneath the closed door of her bedroom. Without thinking, he kicks the door in and immediately finds himself unable to move or even breathe because he is now face to face with a horrific a scene from his past.

Connor stands in the doorway completely frozen and for a brief moment he flashes back to that night, the night he lost everything. "Connor, Olivia look after each other. We love you both so much." He hears his mother say in the back of his mind.

Olivia is standing in the middle of the room, looking back at Connor with tears in her eyes and fear on her broken, bruised and bloody face. Harper is snuggled in her arms, blissfully unaware of what is happening as one of the soldiers from Slade's militia stands behind them, holding Olivia with an arm around her neck and a handgun pressed against her temple.

Connor barely has time to react before the solider turns the gun on him and starts shooting, Rose quickly grabs Connor's arm and pulls him into cover causing the bullets to fire into the wall across from the door. "Connor, Connor tell me what you saw? I need to know everything you saw in the room!" Rose shouts loudly, forgetting to use his code name. 

Connor's breathing is shallow and sparse , his eyes shut tightly as he his best to focus. "Um, Olivia and Harper are standing in the middle of your room with tools all around them... a soldier is pressing a gun to Olivia's head, the gun seems to be the 9mm pistol  you keep here, but that's all I saw at quick glance." He says quietly, closely to Rose so only they can hear the conversation.

Knowing how much ammo her 9mm pistols holds, Rose notices that the solider has stupidly fired all 15 bullets into the wall. "It's time for this to end, cover me." Rose gives Connor a slow, passionate kiss on the lips like they know their world is about to change.

"Hey asshole!" Rose stands in the doorway and slowly begins to walk toward Olivia and the solider with steel eyed determination, then Connor jumps out and quickly loads an arrow to cover her as she walks.

"ROSE! Your father wants you back by his side, like you used to be. If you come quietly with me now I'll leave this shitty place that you call a home in peace. If you don't, I will kill these kids and your boyfriend. Then I'll drag you back to him, even if I have to drag you by your hair." The solider says turning the gun on Rose as she continues to walk toward them.

"You won't hurt my kids, you're out of bullets."

"I AM NOT!"

"You are." Rose walks forward until the gun is against her forehead and smiles as if she knows something that he doesn't. "Since my father sent you to drag me back to him I assume he is watching us somehow? So, answer me this: Did he threaten to torture you before ending your phatic, miserable life if you failed? Tell me, do you fear him?"

Rose waits for the solider to give her a tiny, scared nod. "You should, but you should FEAR ME MORE! I am going to count to three, then I'm going to make shoot me. When nothing happens, I will rip that gun from your hands and beat you to death with it."

"One." Rose begins to count, smiling at the look of pure fear in the soldier's eyes.

"Two." She glances down at Olivia and gives her a wink.

"Three, Connor now!" She ducks and before the solider can react, an arrow pierces through his shoulder with enough force to knock him to the ground and the gun to fly from his hand. Olivia immediately escapes the soldier's grasp and runs toward Connor with Harper in her arms leading him to drop his bow and kneels down before taking them in a tight hug.

"WAIT! I SURRENDER! My life is in yours, just let me live." The solider raises his hands in defense, pleading with Rose to spare his life.

Rose's eyes go dead and her instincts kick in as rage completely takes over. She tackles the solider before he has a chance to get up, she grabs a nearby hammer off of the floor and proceeds to beat him with it in a blind rage. "YOU THINK YOU CAN COME INTO MY HOUSE, THERTEN MY FAMILY AND EXPECT TO LIVE!" Rose beats the man to death until nothing remains of his skull expect red brain matter. 

"Rose, please stop! We are okay!" Olivia pleads in horror with tears streaming down her face, unable to look away.

Connor cups Olivia's face in his hands, trying to shield her from what's going on behind them. "Hey, hey don't look at that, please look at me. You're gonna be alright, just keep looking at me." He holds Olivia close while Harper cries in her arms.

Rose continues to bash at what used to be a man's skull with a hammer, barely hearing Connor and Olivia's desperate pleas for her to stop. The only thing that she hears above all else is the sound of Harper crying. Rose's eyes go wide when she realizes Harper is crying... because of her, because of what she did, because she lost control and couldn't stop herself before it was too late.

She sits backs on her knees and drops the hammer from her shaky blood covered hands before looking over at Connor and Olivia with a horrified look on her blood drenched face only to see that they all share the same horrified look. She slowly stumbles to her feet before continuing that pace over to her family. 

"I-I didn't mean it. M-mommy didn't mean it." Rose says with tears welling in her eyes while trying to comfort Harper, but she only shudders away from her touch and retreats deeper into Olivia's chest. She finally breaks down when she realizes even her own daughter is scared of her, unable to face the shame she runs out the room, sobbing loudly as she goes.

Connor takes a few deep as he tries to come to grips with what had just happened before turning his attention to Olivia and Harper, holding Olivia's face in his hands once again and looking at them with concern. "Olivia, are you guys okay? Please tell you guys are okay?"

Olivia gives a shaky nod while tears stream down her face. "Connor, it happened again, why did it happen again?"

"I know, I know and you were so brave, so very brave. But I need you to brave once again, I need you to be brave for me, I need you to be brave for Harper. I need you take her into your room, lock the door behind you and wait for either Rose or I to come and get you guys. Olivia, do you think you can do that for me? Please, this is the only way I'll know you will be safe." Connor says with tears in his eyes as well.

Olivia gives a shaky nods and Connor comes in close to wipe the tears away and wrapping her and Harper in a long, tight hug before kissing them both the forehead.

"Thank you, Olivia. I love you."

Olivia puts on a brave face for Harper while gently rocking in her arms as they walk over to the crib. Once she is placed inside, Olivia wheels the crib out of the room, but stops at the door. "Connor, what are you going to do? What's going to happen to Rose?"

"I'm going to fix this." Connor chokes the words out as if he doesn't quite believe them. As soon as Olivia leaves the room, he buckles under the weight of the world. He slumps against the wall and slides down to the floor. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." He holds his head in his hands and begins to cry like a child with no means to stop.

"We know son."

Connor lifts his head and looks on in shock as Oliver and Dinah kneel down before him. "Mom... Dad?"

"Hello pretty bird." Dinah leans in close and wipes away the tears from Connor's eyes, he gives a sad smile when he feels the warmth of his mother's gentle hand on his cheek once again.

Oliver takes Connor's hand. "It's time get up son, your work isn't done yet."

"I can't, I'm so tired."

"We know son, and we're so sorry, but we didn't raise you to quit when there's work to be done. It's time to get up and take care of your family, they need you now. There will be time for you all to rest when you are done."

"I'm sorry that I wasn't brave enough to save you, I'm sorry  I wasn't strong enough to protect my family. I'm sorry I failed to be the son you wanted me to be." Connor says breathlessly as more tears stream down his face.

Oliver and Dinah both place a hand of each of Connor's shoulders and Dinah shakes her head. "You will always be the son we want you to be, don't you dare ever think otherwise. We forgive you, Connor. We just hope you can forgive yourself now."

"We love you so much and we miss you."

"Wait! What am I supposed to do? Please tell me what I'm supposed to do?" Connor closes his eyes, trying to focus on his parents again before reopening them only to discover his parents have disappeared and left him behind. "... I miss you too."

* * *

Connor slowly rises to his feet and stumbles out of the room before walking down the hall and noticing the bathroom door is slightly ajar with the muffed sound of the shower running from inside the room, he slowly opens the door and takes in the sight in front of him with sad eyes.

"I didn't mean it, mommy didn't mean it." Rose repeats to herself over and over as she sits under the cold water of the running shower head, trying desperately to scrub her hands clean of blood.

Connor slowly walks into the bathroom, careful not to disturb Rose as he sits down next to her. They both take a moment before he carefully removes the Ravager cowl from her head and tosses it aside.

Rose slowly places her head on Connor's shoulder and grips his arm. "There's blood on my hands, blood I can't wash off. The blood never washes off, no matter how hard I try." She says while her whole body is shaking.

Connor looks at Rose's hands, now washed of any blood. "Let me try." He says softly, gently taking her hands and running them under the water thoroughly before cleaning the blood off of her face with his wet hands. "Better?"

"No." Rose says softly as she begins to cry into Connor's chest. "I didn't mean to kill him in front of my baby, I only meant to subdue him. I didn't mean it... mommy didn't mean it."

He wraps his arm around Rose, holding her as closely as possible. "I know... I know. It's not your fault, it's not your fault. Everything is going okay, we're going to be okay." He repeats the last part of his words to himself and Rose until he believes them, just a little bit. Eventually, he feels Rose stop shaking and fall asleep in in his arms despite water continuing to pour on their heads

He shuts off the water before lifting Rose into his arms and walking out of the bathroom, taking note of all the damages as he walks across the house to his bedroom, he gently lays Rose on the bed and leans in to kiss her on the temple before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

Connor slowly walks into the kitchen, grabbing a bucket of water and wet washcloth before heading back into Rose's bedroom to begin scrubbing the floor clean. After working tirelessly for an hour to wash the blood away, he leans down to pick the handgun up off the floor and quickly dismantles it, but to his surprise an unfired bullet pops out of the gun chamber, he glances over the wall where the bullets were fired to notice that there are 14 bullet holes in the wall instead of 15 like Rose had thought.

Connor picks up his bow and the bucket drops the washcloth in it before moving to clean other rooms in the house. When coming near Olivia's bedroom, noticing the bright lights coming from underneath the door.

He makes his way down to the flower shop, cleaning the rest of house as he goes. He throws the countless destroyed flowers arrangements in the trash bag in his hands before going over to a nearby supply closet and grabbing light bulbs to replace the broken ones. After screwing in the new blubs and seeing how they Illuminate the darkness, Connor gives a tiny smile as if that will make everything better.

He notices the shards of broken glass scattered across the room and goes down to begin pick them off the floor, but he moves too carelessly when picking up the glass and cuts his hands, causing them to bleed profusely. He looks down at blood gushing from his hands in breathless, silent shock and feels anger rise in his chest. "WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO!!!" Connor slams his bloody fists down on the  glass counter before placing his head down next to his hands. "Please... what am I supposed to do?"

As if the universe had answer, Connor notices a fresh bouquet of flowers that was knocked off of the shelf behind the counter. He slowly walks and takes the flowers in his bloody hands before reading the inscription on the note tag attached.

  **Mom and Dad,**

**I'm sorry for being so late.**

**\- Love, Olivia.**

Connor gives a sad smile at the note as he grips the flowers tightly because he now knows what must be done.

* * *

"Hey guys, how are you? I hope you guys are doing well and wherever you guys are, I hope you are together. Um... I know Olivia is usually the person who lays your flowers, but... um she's asleep right now, she doesn't even know I'm doing this. I'm sorry I haven't spoken to you guys since I came home, I was so scared to face you again." Connor's bloody hands shakes as he lays the flowers between the graves of his parents.

"Um, everything's... okay, I'm trying my best to look after Olivia like you said, but I don't know if I can protect her, I don't know if I can protect any of us, but that's why I have Rose with me. She and I are good, we're finally at a place where we can trust each other again, or more accurately we are in a place where she can trust me again."

Connor smiles, thinking of how Rose's eyes light up in the in the morning when she picks Harper out of her crib. "She truly is a wonderful mother,  I wish you guys could see how she is around Olivia and Harper. I couldn't have asked for a better partner. And Harper, most of all I wish you could see her. She's growing up so fast, I know it's kind of clique to say that, but she really is. I hope it's okay that she was named after Roy considering how he and dad left their relationship when he was kicked out of the house. Olivia was the person who named Harper and I think she was too young to understand why Roy was kicked out. Hell, I couldn't understand when it I was a kid, how could Oliver do that to him. I mean, he was family, but after tonight I do."

Connor's lip trembles before he breaks down in tears. "I'm sorry... I can't keep pretending like everything's okay when it's not. Everything is not okay... I am not okay."

"I wish that I was, I wish I could that go to a time when the world made sense, back before this war between our families ever began. Damn you Roy! Why did you have to kill him? I know he was angry after what happened to Lian, we all were. But he didn't need to kill him. I understand why he did it. Lian was his world and when your world is taken from you, you will do anything to bring her back. I understand because... I almost did the same thing tonight."

"Roy started this war because he made a mistake and now others have to fix it and that's what Rose and I are going to. I won't pretend like he's the only person to blame, not when I made the ultimate mistake when I got closer to Rose and you guys paid the ultimate price for my mistake... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Connor wipes away his tears before taking two arrows out of the quiver on his back. "I'm sorry that I failed to save you, I sorry that failed to protect my family, but I won't fail again, I swear!" Connor sticks the arrows in their graves by the nocking point before pressing a button on the shaft the ignites the arrowheads in flames.

"I'm going to fix this. I'm finally going to make you proud."

As Connor walks away, a faint whisper can be heard behind him. "We already are son." Oliver and Dinah say sadly.

* * *

Connor silently walks back into his bedroom, watching Rose sleep peacefully as he sits down in a nearby chair and strip away pieces of armor until nothing remains expect his black pants before he quietly slips into the bed, closely behind Rose. He closes his eyes, feeling the fatigue of the night quickly set in.

"I'm awake." Rose says suddenly, bringing Connor out of his tired state.

Rose turns over and Connor places a gentle hand on her cheek "How are you feeling?"

"I am not okay... I am 100 percent, with a doubt not okay. " Rose gives a tired sigh.

Connor gives a sad chuckle. "Yeah, tell me about it."

"I wouldn't even know where to begin... please tell me everything I did tonight was just a very bad dream. Did I really kill someone in front of Olivia and... my baby?" Rose asks with tears blurring her vision.

He doesn't say anything, but the look of fear and hesitation tells her all she needs to know. "I'm a monster." Rose says, her voice is breaking as tears begin to stream down her face.

Connor immediately pulls himself closer to Rose, until the tips of their noses are touching. "No! No, you are not a monster! your parental instincts kicked in and you just a lapse in judgement because you were only scared and concerned with saving Olivia and Harper and that doesn't make you a monster. You will never be a monster, understand me?" He wipes Rose's tears away with his thumb.

"Are you sure about that? You saw Harper crying because of me, she's scared of me. One of the few good things in my life, the only prefect thing in my life... and she is afraid of me, her own mother. It's my fault, my rage took over, Olivia begged me to stop and I didn't because the truth is I didn't want to stop... not until that fucker who hurt my family was dead. Connor, please tell me I did the right thing, even if you have to lie to me."

"You did the right thing and If you hadn't, I would've because I won't let anyone hurt you or any member of this family that we've built together. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine." Connor's tone is nothing but truthful.

"It's my fault! If I hadn't asked you to come with me today, you could've stopped this attack before it ever happened. I'm sorry, I was blind, so consumed with proving my legacy and the worst part is I thought I could do it. Ultimately, I made a mess of things and I dragged others into my mess, now they're pa-"  

Rose suddenly leans and gives Connor a kiss on the lips again. "Stop! Please don't do this to yourself, Connor. This is not your fault. I think this attack happened because we left today, not regardless. It happened because we left the house in vulnerable place and we weren't here to protect our family, my father took the opportunity to attack. I know because that's what I would do." Rose says angrily, barely noticing the shock and confusion on Connor's face.

"What?" Rose asks, giving a chuckle.

"You kissed me! You keep kissing me, why?" He asks in confusion.

"Sorry, it seemed like to the only way to shut you up."  Rose chuckles again while blushing.

"Don't be, I was only surprised because tonight was the first time we kissed since prom night that I forgot how good kissing you felt. I forgot how good we are together."

"Are we though?... Are we any good at this?... I'm not just talking about being parents and raising the kids while trying to prove that we're adults or being heroes. I'm talking about life, are we any good at life?"  Rose asks, adjusting comfortably on the bed. 

Connor sighs because he knows the answer, but is afraid to give it. "God, I hope so, but probably not. What are we doing wrong? What the hell's wrong with us?"

Rose chuckles. "The short answer is lots, but the long answer is a bit more complicated than that. You are rich boy with issues, lots of issues. One of them is your enormous guilt complex, ever since the death of your parents, you feel the need to take the world on shoulders alone when you really shouldn't, or shouldn't do it without me."

"And me... I have abandonment issues, daddy issues, I murder first and deal with the consequences later I don't feel like I'm good enough for anything or anyone. Most of all, I don't feel like I'm good enough to be loved. Go on, take your pick, I've got a lot of issues to choose from." Rose finishes, her tone is one of a sad anger. 

"Oh, I forgot to mention all the reckless shit you like to do." Rose says abruptly, in effort to change the subject.

 "I'm not that reckless." Connor scoffs in disbelief.

"Oh, yes you are! You are so reckless, that's why I took the lead tonight, because when you are angry or scared you react out of fear without a plan. You become a reckless idiot, your methods and takedowns get sloppy well... sloppier than usual. It's not safe and if keep going like this, you're going to die, and don't get me started on your driving skills."

"OH MY METHODS! SINCE WHEN DO YOU CARE ABOUT MY METHODS!? WHY DO YOU SUDDENLY ABOUT CARE HOW I HANDLE MYSELF OUT THERE?!" Connor shouts in a quiet rage.

"I CARE BECAUSE I NEED YOU! I CARE BECAUSE I LOVE YOU! ASSHOLE!!!" Rose shouts back in anger, without realizing the weight of words she just said.

Connor's eyes go wide and before Rose can even react, he grips her face gently and leans in for a deep, passionate kiss. After the shock, Rose quickly melts into Connor. This kiss is different than all the others, it's not out of fear or desperation, but out of pure love. They are kissing each other as if the world around them never changed, they kiss each other as if they were stupid kids again. "You... love me?" He smirks against her lips.

Rose quickly pulls away, clearly flustered. "Ssshhhiiittt, no, wait, what did I say?"

"You said that you love me."

"Um... no, I didn't. Maybe you misheard me, I'm tired and when I'm tired I say a bunch of nonsense like: fajita congressman, see?" Rose says shakily, her eyes dart around the room aimlessly as she is unable to look at Connor out of embarrassment. 

Connor shakes his head and he guides Rose's face back to him until their eyes meet. "Nuh-uh... Rose, come on. We both know what you said, you might as well say it again." He says before giving Rose the puppy dog eyes.

Rose slowly gets lost in Connor's deep blue eyes and gives a sigh. "Damn it, Queen! Don't give those blue eyes, don't give me the puppy dog look! You know that's my weakness and it's bad enough that Harper has your eyes, but I think she is starting to give me that look too."

"Ha, Ha! I've taught her well!"

"Fine... Yes! I love you, you jackass! I love you! Happy Now! is that what you wanted to hear?" Rose snaps in anger before she relents and fear overcomes her face. "Do you love me?" She asks sadly, almost afraid of the answer.

Connor gives Rose a wide smile. "Yes, Rose Wilson I love you. I have always loved you, ever since we were kids. I know I made a mistake leaving, but I'm really glad you allowed me to stay here and raise Harper because everyday you give me more reasons to love you when I see how happy you are with her and Olivia."  He leans in a gives Rose a soft kiss on the lips.

"I love you too." Rose says softly as they pull away, she chuckles as if something is funny to her. "Shit, I gotta tell Olivia I lost our bet."

Connor looks at Rose in shock. "Wait! You and Olivia made a bet on which one us was going to say 'I love you' first?"

"Yeah... Olivia and I made a bet a few months ago, I  bet her that you would say it first and I she bet me that I would say it first. Ultimately, I lost and Olivia won, but I can tell that you were so close to cracking."

"Ha! You wish! You're just upset I finally won." He says smugly.

"Yeah well, don't get used to it." Rose leans close enough to kiss Connor, but playfully slaps his face instead.

Connor sighs and his expression turns very stern and sad. "Speaking of Olivia... I don't think she'll be able to sleep through the night anymore without having a nightmare first. I walked past her room and saw lights coming from underneath the door, she is afraid to go to sleep. Can you talk to her? You are better at getting her to open up than me."

Rose sighs deeply, taking in the sad information about Olivia with a heavy heart. "Sure, I'd be happy to, we can have a 'couch date' as she likes to call them." 

"Okay, just don't go into room yet. I still haven't cleaned up or removed the body of the solider, but I cleaned the rest of the house so just steer clear of that part of house altogether."

Rose nods and clenches her fist tightly while holding Connor's hand. "I'll call Wintergreen in the morning, he handles clean up like this." 

"I was just to ask the League for help, but if that works..." Connor trails, a sad realization comes his face. "God, does it scare you that we both have ways to get rid of a body, considering how young we are?"

Rose closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, coming to the sad same realization before reopening them, giving a nod. "Yes. Does it scare you that you can't remember a time before we ever became Ravager and Green Arrow? Does it scare you that the life of 'child soldiers' is the only life we know now?" 

Connor's voice breaks as he answers. "... Yes, this is the only life I know now and sometimes I wish that could back to a time when the world made sense and life was easier, but then I see you, Olivia and Harper, and world suddenly makes sense again."

"Wow, you old romantic. That was one hell of a line." Rose says, trying to hide her blushing cheeks.

"I do have my moments." Connor says with a smile as he gently lays his head on Rose's chest. "Would you go back to a time before ever you became Ravager?"

Rose slowly runs her fingers through Connor's soft hair and they spend a moment in silent bliss before she answers. "I would like to say yes, especially to see Grant again. But the truth is a definite no because I have you, I have Olivia and you two make me happy, make me feel needed. And Harper, I wouldn't be able to live without her, I love her."

"I couldn't even imagine living without her. I love her so much." Connor says with a fond smile, thinking of Harper.

"It's not just her that I love, I love you all."

"I love you too." Connor leans up and places a hand on Rose's cheek while giving her a gentle kiss before they return to their pervious position's of comfort.

"Connor, are we going to be okay?" Rose asks hesitantly, continuing to play with his hair.

Connor lifts his head from Rose's chest and gives her a hopeful smile. "I believe we will. it's going to take some for us all to heal, especially Olivia. But one day the morning sun will be shining through the curtains as birds chirp outside the window, Olivia and Harper will be eating breakfast in the kitchen. We'll wake up together on that day and we'll know, we'll just know that you and I are finally o-" Connor is cut off by the sound of his phone ringing on the nightstand.

"Ugh... use effort! damn you." Connor mutters to himself as he reaches over for his phone before rolling over next to Rose and answering the phone. "Hello... speaking...  no, I haven't seem since Sam I dropped him at the paramedics. Is something wrong? Is he okay?... are you saying he's disappeared?" He holds the phone away from his ear as Veronica screams at him through the receiver.

"Veronica, please calm down, I'm sure he's fine... yeah sure, I'll be there as soon as I can."  Connor sighs, hanging up the phone and slips it into his pocket.

Rose notices the distress and conflict on Connor as he sits up on the bed, she sits up and leans in close to places a hand on his cheek. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Um... nothing, well something. The kid I saved from the fire today Sam has disappeared from his hospital room an hour ago been seen since and his sister is absolutely distraught trying to look for him. She's asked for my help since I was the last person to interact with him while the building was going down... Rose, I don't want leave now, not after all we've been through tonight. I'm needed here, but V-" Connor is cut by Rose giving him a deep kiss.

"Go, Veronica sounds like she needs you more right now besides, I've got things handled here. I'll comfort Olivia and Harper while you're gone. Just take your gear with you and watch your cute ass out there, since I won't be there to do for you." Rose says as they separate.

"Okay, give Olivia a hug and Harper a kiss from me... I love you." Connor says, giving Rose a quick final kiss.

"I know." Rose's cheeks blush a hot red.

"Ha, did you just 'Han Solo' me?"

"Oh, go put a shirt on, you nerd!" Rose playful slaps Connor's bare chest and pushes him back on the bed.

"Yes ma'am."

* * *

Veronica nervously paces up and down an empty hospital hallway outside of Sam's room, as she approaches a window on the fourth floor Connor steps out of the shadows wearing his Green Arrow armor. "Miss...?" Connor asks, using a voice modifier to hide his identity.

Veronica doesn't seem phased by Connor's presence as she turns to face him, putting her hands on her hips. "Thank you for your help, Mr. Queen You can cut out the voice, I know it's you. Sam held out for as long he could, but I bribed him with candy and he cracked almost instantly, and did you forget we spoke on the phone?"

"Seriously Sam! Is the whole secret identity thing not sacred anymore?" Connor huffs, taking down his hood. "Alright, you know who I am, but I don't know who you are."

"You're right, please allow me to introduce myself. Veronica Lodge, pleased to meet you, Mr. Queen." She extends a hand out to Connor."

"Wait! Did you say 'Lodge' as in 'Lodge Industries'? The company that currently trying to buy and downsize my company in a merger that will utterly destroy my family name and legacy? Are we talking about the same 'Lodge'?" Connor's tone is controlled, but has a hint of anger. 

Veronica scoffs before her expression and tone turns desperate. "Listen Mr. Queen, I understand you're upset by this merger and we'll have time to talk it later, but right now I need to find my brother. I called you because Sam trust you, now will you please help me, you have to understand my parents are dead. Sam is only family I have left."   

Connor sighs and gives an understanding nod after dealing with the loss of his own parents with Olivia by his side. "I understand completely, more than you know... why we don't sit down and you can tell what's happened." He gestures to few chairs in the hallway.

"Thank you Mr. Queen." Veronica says as she sits down in a chair and Connor follows by sitting in the chair next to her.

"Please, call me Connor. Now, tell me what's happened."

Veronica shakes her head and has a look of disbelief on her face. "I don't where to start, I was worried about Sam so I checked him into the hospital to have the doctors and nurses treat his injuries. After an hour the doctors couldn't find any injuries to treat, it was almost like his injuries were completely healed by the time we arrived at the hospital. I was by his side from the time you left him with the paramedics until I went to sign his discharge papers."

"I was only for gone for a minute, two at the most and when I came back to get him so we could go home, I found his room in complete disarray. There were scorch marks and tire tracks from his wheelchair on the floor and all across the wall going up the ceiling, it was like an electrical storm had broken out and Sam had just disappeared in the middle of it."

"Scorch marks?" Connor asks with a concerned look.

Veronica nods "Come on, let me show." She stands to her feet and leads Connor through the door of the hospital room. 

"My god..." Connor says, taking in the sights of the room around him. Sparks fly from the broken light above  and fall onto the bedsheets tossed across the floor, scorched wheelchair tracks litter the walls and ceiling making a tail that leads out the window in the corner of the room.  

"Sam did all of this on his own? Connor asks in shock he turns back to Veronica to see look of worry on her face, he places a friendly hand on her shoulder. "Veronica, don't worry we are going to find Sam. I need you to tell me if you noticed any behavior changes with him?" 

"Sam is 10 and happy, that is one thing I love about him, I love that life hasn't beaten him down yet. He's always on the move, barely slowing down for anything or anyone in order to get to his next adventure, but something changed after you saved him from the building fire. On the ride to the hospital he was... different, quiet and restless in his wheelchair, he jittered away from anyone who even came near him when usually he is such a kind and friendly person. It was almost like he is uncomfortable in his own body."

"Connor, what if he's hurt? What if he's dead?"

"Veronica, we can't think like that." Connor walks over to the window and puts his hand on the fragile glass causing it to shatter to his touch, he leans out the window and watches the glass fall down to the street below. Connor's eyes go wide as he looks up the building to see wheelchair tracks continue up the side of the hospital building to the roof.

Connor leans back into the room, using the window frame as support. "Veronica, yo-" He is cut off when static electricity hits him like a thunderbolt with a enough force to knock him across the room into the wall."Of course! The Spee..." The words fumble out of his mouth as he shakes his head and tries to recover.

"Connor, what did you say? Do you know where my brother is?" Veronica kneels down next to Connor.

"The roof! I think Sam is on the roof of the hospital."

Veronica Immediately bolts out of the room, barely waiting for Connor to catch up as she marches up the stairs to the roof. She burst through the door and her eyes dart around the rooftop until they land on Sam huddled in his wheelchair near the roof's edge.

"Help me! Someone please help me." Sam says quick and shakily as electricity radiates off of his body. 

"Sam!!! Don't worry, I'm coming to help you!" Veronica begins to sprint toward her brother until three arrows lands at her feet, stopping her in her tracks abruptly.

Connor lowers his bow before walking between Sam and Veronica, holding his bow out to stop her from taking any steps further to Sam. "Veronica stop! We all need to calm down, I don't want you to be hurt and you can't help Sam if you're hurt."

"I don't care about me right now. Just help Sam, he's hurting!" Veronica gestures angrily to Sam with a worried look on her face.

"I know, but right now I need you to stay calm for Sam. I'm going to fix this." Connor says calmly, waiting for Veronica to give a nod in response.

"Sam... hey Sam, are you alright? Are you hurt?" Connor slowly places his bow on the ground and walks toward Sam with caution.

The lighting behind Sam's eyes disappears for a brief second and he is able to focus on Veronica who is standing away at a distance. "Ronnie, help me... I'm scared!" In an instant Sam chargers to Veronica at super speed, brushing against Connor fast enough to throw him off balance and knock him on his backside.

Connor looks at the trail of lighting left in Sam's wake in shock, he turn to Veronica as she holds Sam in a tight hug."The Speed Force, he's a Speedster. Sam is a Speedster!"

"He's a wha... Connor, I don't understand. What is happening to Sam!?" Veronica holds Sam tighter as they both look at Connor, trying to get answers.

"He is a Speedster... that is what we call in the superhero community someone who can move at super speed... like The Flash or Superman, but unlike Superman, Sam moves at super speed by tapping into something called The Speed Force. The only thing I don't understand is how Sam got his powers in the first place."

"Sam, what happened to you in that fire today?'

Sam looks at Veronica in the eyes. "Promise that you wont be mad."

Veronica looks at Sam in surprise before she leans in to kiss him on the forehead and gives a nod. "Oh Sammy, I promise."

Sam sighs deeply before he speaks. "I don't know exactly what happened today, it all happened so fast. When the explosions began I couldn't find you, I was so scared and I thought was going to die. I knew I had to do something because you wouldn't give up and Lodges don't give up, that's what you taught me, so I hid in a nearby science lab. I barely had time to get away from my wheelchair and get into cover before I was consumed by the explosions. The last thing I remember as I passed out was being thrown back into a wall of chemicals."

"I woke up and Connor found me soon after that and you guys know the rest, but I still don't know how I got the roof of the hospital though."

Apparently... you phased through the window and moved up the side of building at super speed in your wheelchair, this is something Speedsters can learn." Connor says to Sam while showing him the trail he left up the building.

"Neat! I can do that with my super speed... like The Flash? Am I like a superhero now?" Sam says before a tiny smile comes across his face.

Veronica's eyes go wide at Sam's smile. "No! Absolutely not!" She snaps at her brother before turning to Connor "You speak of these 'Speedsters' like you've encountered them before. Do you know someone who can help fix Sam?"

Connor gives a nod response. "I do, my uncle is a Speedster based in Keystone City. He has a lifetime of experience with being a speedster and helping other Speedsters discover and understand their abilities, in fact he is best guy I know to help Sam. Veronica, you're Sam's legal guardian and I need your permission to do this, I won't have it any other way."

Veronica looks at Sam with concern before her expression shifts into steel eyes of determination as she looks at Connor. "Take us to him."

* * *

**Rosy Posy: How are things going at the hospital? Will you be home soon?**

**Connor The Kid: No, change of plans. I'm in Keystone City, the whole situation with Sam just got a lot more complicated and I probably won't be home until morning. Sorry:)**

**Rosy Posy: What are you doing in Keystone? Are you already having an affair with some bitch literally hours after I confessed my love for you... jackass.**

**Connor The Kid: No one will ever compare to you. Are we trying out new pet names because I have suggestions about mine. I'm in Keystone to visit my aunt and uncle, then I'll be home to make it up to you, I promise. I love you.**

**Rosy Posy: Damn straight you will! Love you too, be safe.**

Connor smiles down at his phone before he puts it in pocket as he continues to approach the porch of a large suburban house with Veronica and Sam following closely behind. When they reach the front door, he turns to Veronica and Sam with hesitant look on his face. "Before I knock, I just have to tell you guys my aunt and uncle have been out of the 'hero' game for years and now I'm going to show up at their door out of nowhere with two strangers and dressed like I just left the set of Once Upon A Time, so let me do the talking."

Veronica and Sam both give a nod before Connor knocks on the door. The door is answered almost instantly and to everyone's surprise when a little girl with hazel nut skin, black hair and green eyes stands in front of them.

"Is that 'The Speed Force guru' Connor mentioned?" Sam asks in confusion from the background before Veronica shushes him quietly.

"Are you Robin Hood? Like my mommy used to be?" The little girl asks with curiosity, looking at Connor in his Green Arrow armor.

Connor kneels down to be eye level with the girl and smiles. "Kind of. You must be Iris, right?" The girl gives a smile to his question before he continues. "Alright Iris, Are your mom and dad home? I need to speak with them urgently."

"MOM! DAD! SOMEONE'S AT THE DOOR FOR YOU!" Iris shouts back into the house for her parents.  

"Iris, who is at the do..." Iris's father cuts himself off when he sees Connor standing at the front door, he immediately grabs Connor and wraps him a tight bro hug. "Connor... what are you doing here?"

"Hello uncle Wally, I need your help?"

* * *

"So, let me get this straight... you're a Speedster in a wheelchair?" Wally West asks skeptically, continuing to examine Sam in his lab.

"Is that a bad thing? Is there something wrong with me because I'm in a wheelchair?" Sam asks sadly with hint of anger causing Veronica to step to his defense, but before she can come closer Connor puts a hand on her shoulder.

Wally quickly realizes his mistake. "Not at all, Sam, it's fantastic. I'm truly sorry if I made you feel that way, that wasn't my intention. It's just, in all my years as Kid Flash then as original recipe Flash and all of the other Speedsters I've met, including my own children. I've never met someone like you, a Speedster in a wheelchair... you're unique Sam, one of a kind."

Sam smiles at the compliant just given to him. "So, if I'm a Speedster what can Speedsters do? What can I do? Connor tells me I phased through a wall and moved up the side of a building, but I don't how I did it, I don't know how to control my abilities yet."

"That's okay Sam. I can teach you if you like." 

"No! Absolutely Not! He's just a kid! I thought you were supposed to fix my brother! not teach how to be some fast idiot in red pajamas!" Veronica snaps at Wally, she abruptly grabs the handles of Sam's wheelchair and pushes him out the room before he protest. "Come on Samuel, we are going home! We are going back home to Riverdale!"

"Wally, what did I tell you about keeping it down at night? I just put the twins to bed and you know how hard is to get them to settle down if they start going." Says a woman with jet black hair and blonde highlights, olive skin and green eyes as she enters the room from upstairs.

"Sorry babe, I'll keep it down. But we have a guest." Wally says to the woman before she spots Connor leaning back on Wally's desk.

Connor's eyes go wide and a smile forms before he breaks into a sprint toward the woman. "ARTEMIS!... AUNT ARTY!" He wraps Artemis in a tight hug.

"Hey smalls, let me have a look at you." Artemis reaches up and cups Connor's face in her hands. "Wow, you've gotten tall... really tall, maybe I should stop calling you 'smalls' since your taller than me now." 

Connor gives a chuckle as they separate. "Well, that's what 12 years will do to you."

"Um, I'm going to see if Veronica and Sam need directions getting out of the city." Wally rises from his chair and leaves the room. It's good to see you again, Connor."

"You too, Wall Man. I love you" As soon as Wally leaves, Connor leans back on the desk again, trying to seem casual. "So, I have cousins huh. it's good to finally meet Jai and Iris, I've only ever seen them in pictures yo-"

"Connor, what are you doing here? What are you really doing? Bringing that kid to Wally isn't the only reason you're here, is it? And you're not here to talk about my kids. Something tells me it has to do with the bandages on hands."

Connor abruptly hides his bandaged hands behind his back. "It's been a long night... a really shitty long night. Look, I promise to tell you later, but can we just catch up for a bit, please. It's what I need right now." He says with fresh tears burning down his face.

Artemis nods and gives a tiny smile. "Come on, follow me." She leads Connor into the kitchen and goes over to the fridge and grabs two glass beer bottles and holds one out for him as he sits down on a stool next to the kitchen island. "Want one?"

 "Um, sure, but haven't actually been drunk before. No, no I'm still a good boy who has never touched that devil water." Connor says nervously, taking the bottle and twist off the cap before tossing it on the counter.

Artemis scoffs with an eye roll. "You know, my mother dropped me off on Oliver's doorstep when I was a teenager before she told us we were half siblings. He took me in, trained me. I learned many things about my brother over the years, one of those things is that he's shitty lair... and so are you."

"How did you know?"

"I'm kind of a nosy little sister, I forced Ollie to tell me. We used to swap stories about our kids before... so, beside the massive hangover you had the morning after, how was the rest of your prom night?" Artemis quickly changes the subject.

Connor takes a quick sip before answering. "Um well, I wound up in a school bathroom where I got sad drunk with my girlfriend then we had sex and conceived our daughter. It was the best night of my life, I have no regrets."  

Artemis chokes on her beer and does a hard sallow. "YOU HAVE A DAUGHTER! WITH WHO?" She coughs out in surprise at the last thing she ever though he would say. 

"Rose Wilson. I met her on my Teen Titans team, just like you met uncle Wally on your original Titans team... I finally found my Spitfire, she's my Spitfire." He smiles, remembering all the nights they slept together in Titans tower.

Artemis smiles warmly, remembering when she and Wally were young and stupid. "I'm glad Connor, what's your daughter's name?"

Connor takes his phone and pulls up a picture of Rose and Harper before handing it to Artemis. "Her name is Harper, she's my world. I can't imagine life without her or Rose... or even Olivia, not after everything I've lost."

Artemis smiles down at the picture of Harper bouncing on Rose's knee while Olivia is kneeling beside them, giving a goofy lopsided smile to the camera. "She's cute and is that Olivia? God, it really has been a long time, the last time I saw her she was a baby."

"Yeah, that's Olivia. A lot has changed since you and Wally retired. Heroes and villains are different now and often the line between has disappeared, not like in your day, not with your Titans. I still remember all the bedtime stories you used to tell me, stories of heroes, whatever happened to you guys? Do you keep in touch?"

Artemis smiles and with a glint of remembrance in her eyes. "I have actually, We all got together for a Titans reunion baroque, I was able to catch up with them of all.  Dick and Kori moved back to Gotham to raise their daughter more privately, she was being bullied in school. They decided to homeschool her and she doesn't get bullied anymore, but I guess that's what happens when you have the whole Bat-family to back you up."

"Garfield and Raven are quote 'living life together' whatever that means. Honestly, I don't understand half of things Gar says, but Raven keeps him straight."

 "And Hunter... Oh Hunter, he never really found his place on the team, I guess that's why he left to find his place in the world. I heard he eventually settled down in Tokyo and met a girl. He was happy for a while until the duty to his kingdom and crown called him back to the real world, but what do you expect from Hunter with a last name like Prince. Now, he's back home on Themyscira, working with his mother to bring peace between the Amazons and the Atlanteans." 

"What about you and Wally? How are you guys holding up with the kids?" Connor asks, continuing to nurse his beer.

Artemis's smile grows wider. "We're good, We're all happy. Wally and I are trying our best to keep our sanity while trying deal with a pair of hyper active 7 year old Speedsters. You know, last week I bought a children's archery set for them because I want them to have some skills outside of their powers, but they wouldn't sit still long enough for me to teach them anything. Ah, but can you do? They take after Wally mostly and I can try again when they're older."

"Maybe you should, Iris asked me if I was Robin Hood... just like you. So she's at least curious to learn."

Artemis a gives a chuckle. "You do, Ollie's old armor looks good on you."

Artemis and Connor develop an uncomfortable silence between them, letting one burning question hang in the air until Artemis sighs deeply. "Go on, ask me about him. We both I left out a Titan for a reason, so you might as well just ask me about him."

"Where is Roy Harper?" Connor asks quickly, his voice cold as stone.

Artemis gives a concerned expression to Connor as she takes a step closer to him. "What happened tonight? What did you guys do?"

Connor downs the rest of his beer and lightly slaps his face to give himself courage. "It happened again. None of us are hurt, Rose and I were able to stop it before anything really bad could happen, but we did some shit to end it, we are not okay. I'm tired, I'm so tired. I just want some peace, that's why I need to find Roy. He started this war and now he's going to help me finish it before anyone gets hurt. Roy is going to help me kill Slade Wilson."

Artemis's eyes go wide and she immediately slams her beer down on the counter. "Whoa, okay you need to calm down. Please tell me you're kidding? I know Slade Wilson has some horrible things in the past, things he deserves to die for, but I don't you should be the one to kill him."

"I'm serious. We were both trained by the great Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance, so we both know I'm capable." Connor says with a hint of anger and resentment.

"I know and that's what scares me. You were supposed to be better than us and you are, I see a look in your eyes and you don't want to kill anyone. Going to war and killing someone is not what your parents would've wanted you to do, especially your moth-" 

"YOU'RE RIGHT!" Connor snaps, tears begin to stream down his face. "You're right. This isn't what they would have wanted me to do, but their dead!... and I miss them. I miss my mom and dad. I miss my dad's sarcastic wit and charm or how we bonded over new comic books every week, I miss my mom calling me pretty bird... I was her pretty bird. Most of all, I miss it when they told me what to do. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do, I only know what I can do and I can protect the family left by killing that monster before he hurts anyone else."

Artemis wipes away her tears. "Connor, if I do this for you, if I help you find Roy and you manage to kill Slade Wilson, I want you to promise me something. When you're done with all of this, I want you hang up the bow, let go of your guilt and be happy. I want you to settle down with your girl and raise your daughter along with Olivia, maybe pull a Hunter and travel the world. I don't care, just be happy!"

"I promise."

Artemis gives a nod. "After Lian died, Roy became a ghost, but I figure if we find Cheshire and we'll be able to find him not soon after. I'm going to make some calls to the other Titans, why don't you go see if Wally needs any help getting Veronica and Sam home."

Connor nods, turning and heads out the front door. When he gets outside, he spots Veronica and Sam waiting on the curb while Wally leans against the garage door with his arms folded, a defeat look on his face. "Wally, what's going on here?" he says in whisper.

"I tried to explain to Veronica that I wouldn't even dare put Sam in danger, I just want to give Sam a chance to understand and explore his new Speedsters abilities, but she wouldn't listen to me. Now, Sam and Veronica are refusing to talk to one another."

Connor slowly walks down the driveway toward Veronica, but stops a few feet before he reaches her, he and Sam share a glance. "Veronica, please understand that my uncle doesn't want to put Sam in any sort of danger and if I thought he was I never would've brought you here. He has two kids with the same kind powers as Sam, they're learning from the best, but he also teaching them slowly and never before they're ready. I trust him, I trust to train his kids and I trust to train Sam."

Veronica walks over to Connor, so they can speak privatively. "Wally certainly seems to have experience and in a strange way I trust him too, but Sam is my brother and I will do anything to protect him... you know, I looked your family up on the drive over."

Connor's body tenses up at the mention of his family. "And what did you find?"

"Nothing I didn't already know, my father used to work with your father all the time, that's part of the reason I wanted to work with you. I'm sorry about your parents by the way. " She says sincerely. "I also looked up your sister, if she came to you asking to be trained as a superhero with that bow, could you do it? Could you put her in danger like that?"

"No." Connor says simply, shaking his head.

"Then you know why I can't allow Sam to do this." Veronica says before walking back to Sam.

"Sorry Sam, I tried." Connor passes Sam on his way back up the driveway as Artemis joins the group outside.

Sam sighs and his frustration grows. "I SHOULD BE DEAD!" Sam's words cause everyone to look back in shock. "I should have died today. I took the brunt of an explosion today that should've killed me and yet I'm still here because my speed abilities healed my body. This is my second chance and going to take it, I owe it to myself, I owe it to Connor for saving my life and I owe it to Wally for being willing to train me because I'm scared to use my powers, but I'm already starting to learn."

"I was sneakily testing powers on the ride over, look what I can already do." Sam moves his hand at super speed until it becomes blurry and unfocused. "I can do this too." He takes off down the street.

"SAM!" Veronica screams after her brother.

"What? I got you dinner." Sam comes back an instant after he left, holding a paper bag from Pop's Diner and a milkshake. "Cheeseburger and a chocolate shake to dip your fries in, just how you like it." He takes a few fries from the bag before handing the food to Veronica.

"Impressive, he's a quick learner." Wally says from the background, earning an elbow to the side by Artemis.

Veronica feels the warmth radiating from the bag, she looks at Sam smiling brightly back at her with a wide, childlike grin. "Sam, if you do this you'll have no support from me." She lies to her brother, trying to get him to change his mind. "I'm going back to Riverdale tonight! I have seen the pain on Connor's face, the toll of being a hero takes on him. So, I'm begging you to come with me because I can't watch you go through that, I wont! You owe me that much."

Sam's smile fades and he looks back at Veronica while on the verge of tears. "Ronnie, please I have to do this. I have to learn how to control my powers."

Veronica leans down to wrap Sam in a hug. "I know, Sammy. That's why I want you to tell me all about it. Call me once you get settled here and every time that you learn something new about your powers because I may not like or even understand what you're doing, but I will always support you." She wipes away his tears when they separate.

"Hey! Arrow boy, Speedy, over here now!" Veronica snaps her fingers twice and points to ground in front of her. 

"What did she call me?" Wally asks in shock, causing Connor to chuckle as they walk toward her.

"Mr. West, if you are going to train Sam, I want you give him a home here, I want you guys to keep him safe and if you don't, I will know! I swear to God, if he gets hurt I will come back here to kick both of your asses so fast you'll call me The Flash!"

"Of course we will, right Artemis?" Wally looks over his shoulder for Artemis to give him a response." 

Artemis nods before she comes closer to join the group. "Yes, of course. Besides it's been lonely around here since Bart di... Sam will be safe here, he will have a home here, I will make sure of that myself."

"Thank you, miss...?" Veronica extends a hand to Artemis.

"Artemis Emiko Queen." She accepts and shakes her hand.

Veronica gives her brother one last hug as a black town car pulls up on the street. "I love you Sammy, be good."

"I will, I love you too."  Sam watches his sister open the door and step into the car before it speeds off to the airport. Everyone spends a moment in silence, Sam takes a deep breath before quickly turning to Wally with a brave smile. "So, what am I learning first? What are we doing first?"

Wally comes close, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Sam, not today. We don't-"

"NO! I want to! now come on, what am I learning first?"

Wally nods slowly with a sigh. "How 'bout a simple test of you abilities with a race. You versus me to National City and back."

"Sure, we'll have make it quick. All this super speed is staring to do a number on my wheel treads." Sam gestures down to his wheels smoking from heat and friction.

Wally nods with a smirk before lighting strikes in his eyes and a grey and red Flash suit comes out of The Speed Force and forms around his body.

"OH! NOW THAT'S COOL! Am I going to learn that too?" Sam's face lights up with pure joy and he's not the only one because Artemis's cheeks are blushing at the sight of Wally in his suit.

"You will, you going to learn a lot of new things. Time Travel is pretty fun, but right now focus and try to keep up." Wally assumes a runner's stance and Sam follows by leaning forward in his chair, putting his hands on his wheels ready to go. But before they can take off, Artemis grabs Wally's hand and pulls him to face her.

"You forget something?" Artemis pulls Wally in for a quick peck on the lips. "I want you both to be safe and to be back before the kids wake up."

"You know me babe..."

"No, don't say it. Please don't say it."

"I'll be back..."

"Wally, if you complete this sentence, we're getting a divorce."

"In a flash." Wally takes off with Sam following closely behind, both of them whooping and hollering as they move down the street at super speed. 

Artemis shakes her head and slaps her forehead, she can't help but snicker at Wally's lame pun. "I love him." she reminds herself.

She looks over to Connor and they both share a laugh. "Wally and I are always available for babysitting, it will give us a chance to meet Harper. I have info on Cheshire and this..." Artemis trails off, present a piece of paper and a ring box to Connor.

Connor's eyes go wide as he opens the box to reveal a large diamond engagement ring. "An engagement ring? Rose and I aren't there yet. I mean, we just got back together tonight."

Artemis puts a hand on Connor's shoulder to calm him. "I know, but it was your mother's ring and she would've wanted you to have it. She gave it to Wally when we became serious and now I'm giving it to you. Be happy, Connor."

Connor examines both items closely before putting them in a pouch on his belt and giving his aunt one last hug. "Thank you Artemis... for everything." He begins to walk to his car, but Artemis calls him back.

"Hey Wait! I can throw on the Red Arrow spandex again and come with you for backup."

"No, I have to do this on my own and you have kids, they need you more than I do. Besides... what could go wrong?"

* * *

Rose slowly steps out of the shower, grabbing two towels, wrapping one around her body and putting the other up in her hair. She walks over the sink and feels anger and hatred rise in her chest as she looks at her refection in the mirror. She punches the glass, causing it to break before taking a deep breath and walks out of the bathroom back into Connor's room.

Rose goes over to his closet to grab some of his pajamas for herself. She could back into her room for her pajamas, but decides against it because she doesn't want to remember anything from tonight. She quickly dresses herself in an old high school athletic t-shirt from Connor's football days and Hello Kitty pajama pants he bought her as joke, but kept for himself when she rejected them. She walks over to a standing mirror to fix her hair into a messy bun, laughing at the fact the clothes are oversized on her body.

Connor's room is close to Olivia's that Rose can hear the faint sound of Harper crying. It's faint, but noticeable and all she can focus on which causes her to spring into action, moving at full sprint toward Olivia and her little daisy.

"Hey kid, I heard Harper crying from your room. I came to check on you guys." Rose says to Olivia through the door while quietly knocking.

"Harper's sleeping in her crib, she wasn't the one crying..." Olivia trails off with a sigh, sitting against her bedroom door.

"Oh." Rose sits down against the other side of the door, she listens to Olivia cry. "Are you guys okay?"

Olivia scoffs and sniffs away the tears as more fall down her face. "If you mean 'alive' when you say okay, then yeah, we're alive, but we are not okay."

"Yeah, that's the group consensus." Rose says sadly.

"It happened again! Why did it happen again? What did we do wrong? What did I do wrong?" Olivia shouts at herself in anger, repeating it until Rose opens the door and kneels down to take her in a tight hug.

"Shh, shh, Olivia, you did nothing wrong, You were so brave and I'm so proud of you. It's not your fault understand me? This is not your fault, this is my fault! Connor and I did this. I did this." Rose rocks Olivia back and forth in her arms, quietly shushing her until she calms down.

"What did you and Connor do?" Olivia asks with curiosity, her head still buried in Rose's chest.

Rose sighs. "My father doesn't like Connor and I together, he feels I can do better. But he doesn't care about my happiness, he just wants to use me as a weapon against his enemies because that's all I am to him."

"Is that what you want to be?"

"No, I can never become that now. I can never leave this family, this is my family. I love you Olivia, I love Connor. I told Connor that I love him, well I kind of screamed it at him." She says with a smirk, knowing that will stir Olivia out of her chest long enough for Rose to get a good look at her bruised and bloody face.

"Ha! I knew you would be the first to crack! You owe me lunch!" Olivia lifts her head to gloat, without realizing that she showing Rose her bloody face. She tries to hide her face again, but Rose quickly holds her face in hands.

"I'll buy you a pizza. Now hold still, I need to get a good look at you." Rose examines the sights of Olivia's face with sadness and anger at herself because she wasn't here to protect her. The sight of her black eye on her left, bruising on her swollen right cheek which causes her eye to not open fully, her split bleeding lip and the countless cuts that leave small trails of dried blood on her face. "Olivia, take your time, but can you please tell me what happened today?"

Olivia takes a few deep breaths and more tears stream down her face. "It's was around 1:30, about two minutes before I was going to take a lunch break and check on Harper. The shop was quiet after the midday rush, but then this guy walked in wearing all black military gear and he attacked me. I struggled around the shop to get away, I took Harper upstairs and we hid the best we could. He found us, beat me and called me leverage, but I wouldn't let him touch Harper."

"I'm sorry you had to through that by yourself." Rose pulls Olivia in for another hug.

"Don't! You're here now... please tell me I'm still pretty?" Olivia jokes, trying to brighten the situation.

Rose examines her face again and chuckles. "Yeah kid, once we get you cleaned up you going have a few scars, but girls dig those."

"Then lets get to it." Olivia slowly stands to her feet, leaning on Rose for support "Do you want to wake Harper?" They walk over to Harper's crib and Rose watches her daughter sleep peacefully, completely undisturbed by tonight's events. Rose turns to Olivia and shakes her head before they leave the room.

They carefully walk into the dining room and Rose helps Olivia sit down at the table. "Stay here, I'm going to grab the med kit." Rose smiles at her before going off toward the bathroom. She returns almost instantly, putting the kit on the table and sitting down the chair across from Olivia before scooting closer. "Try to stay still and don't squirm." She says softly, taking out bandages and begins working on Olivia's injuries.

"Does it bother you when you kill people?" Olivia asks hesitantly, knowing that this is a sensitive topic for Rose.

This is a question Rose always feared to answer, but this is Olivia and she won't lie to her. "Yes, but not as much as it used to... I love you Olivia, but can we please talk about something else? Did anything interesting happen at the shop?"

Olivia nods and smiles with blushing cheeks. "I MET SOMEONE! Okay so I was working the shop before the midday rush when suddenly a girl from my school comes storming in, slaps 20 dollars on the counter and says 'how do I passive aggressively say fuck you in flowers?' Apparently, she was having trouble with her boyfriend and wanted some revenge."

"Through flowers? What did you give her?" Rose asks, continuing to work.

"I gave her a striking bouquet that was full of loathing with Geraniums, Foxglove, Meadowsweet, Yellow Carnations, Orange Lilies... my phone number and told she can do better." Olivia says the last bit proudly and her cheeks blush again.

"Oh nice, has she texted you yet?... WAIT! Do I need to give her 'the shovel talk?'" Rose asks protectively.

"No! No shovel talks. I don't even know her name yet and with everything that's happened today I haven't had time to check my messages, but I will let you know if things evolve beyond that."

Rose nods, finishing working and puts the used bandage wrappings in the med kit. "Alright, we're done." 

"Thank you, Rose." Olivia leans over and they embrace each other tightly.

"Anytime, kid." Rose says as the separate, she looks over at the clock to notice that it's nearly 1 in the morning. "Are you hungry? It's just you and me tonight, we can try that all night Jungle Karma Pizza place down the block. I think they deliver." 

"Sure, you owe a pizza anyway." They're brought out of the quiet conversation when hearing Harper cries from Olivia's room. "Okay, this time it wasn't me." Olivia jokes. 

"Harper must be awake. I'm going to feed and bathe her, why don't you call in an order. You remember what I like, right?" Rose asks as she and Olivia rise from their chairs, she nods before pulling out her phone as Rose goes off in the direction of Harper.

15 minutes later, Rose puts her shirt back into place after just fed and bathed Harper, she gently lays her on the floor before grabbing two baby onesies from Connor's closet. "Alright, little daisy, we have few options for you to choose from. Blue with purple penguins or pink with yellow duckies?" Rose presents the two outfits to Harper.

Harper giggles and clinches her fist at the outfit with ducks. "Good choice! You do like ducks." Rose tosses the other outfit aside, scoops Harper in her arms and gently dresses her as Olivia shouts through the house.

"Pizza's here!"

"Pizza time, little daisy." Rose walks out the to the dining room, she carefully places Harper in her highchair before turning to Olivia and smiling. "What'd you get?"

"I got pepperoni for you, ham and pineapple for me. I also took the cookie dough ice cream out of the freezer, i thought we could have a couch date after dinner." Olivia places two pizza boxes on the table.

"Ham and pineapple, really?" Rose asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey! Don't judge me, just love me." Olivia pouts playfully.

"I do love you, now let's eat." They sit down at the table and Olivia puts a slice of pizza on her plate with Rose doing the same, but before either person can take a bite, Harper says something surprising.

"Da!" Harper giggles happily,  clinches her fist at something outside the window behind Olivia.

Both women look out the window where Harper was looking, Olivia quickly turns her attention back to her plate out of boredom. Rose keeps her eyes on the window, noticing a object coming toward them at quite a fast rate. It's only when the object comes closer does Rose's eyes go wide and she realizes what the object is, or rather who it is.

"DOWN!" Rose tackles Olivia safely out the path of the window seconds before Connor's lifeless body comes crashing through it and smashes into the table. They look at a half dead Connor in shock, immediately noticing that he is bleeding out from the large knife stabbed into his chest with a note attached to the handle.

Rose uncriadles Olivia from her arms, holding a hand out to stop her as she gets up. "No, stay here and stay calm."

Shock sets in as Rose approaches Connor slowly, fear comes across her face a sight of the knife in his chest, her father's knife. She quickly removes it from his chest, barely able to keep together as Connor screams in pain before tossing the knife aside and reading the note written in Connor's blood.

**Now I know where you live. Come find me. -SW**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was actually crying and I wrote the damn thing. surprise! I modeled this version of Wally after the one seen on The Flash TV show/ the New 52 and this version of Artemis is a mixture of the one seen in YJ and Emiko Queen, Oliver's younger sister from DC Rebirth.  
> Did anyone catch the hint I gave?
> 
> I took the part where Olivia gives the girl the passive aggressive flower bouquet from a post on tumblr called Flower Shop AU by demisexualmerrill and just had to including it in this chapter because I could I not when Olivia owns and runs a flower shop.
> 
> Did anyone catch the Power Rangers easter egg?
> 
> For anyone wondering the ages of the characters,  
> Connor and Rose was 18 and now 19  
> Olivia was 13 and now 14  
> Harper is 6 months old  
> Wally and Artemis are 31  
> Roy Harper is 34  
> Oliver and Dinah are 45  
> 


	7. Blood Ties That Bind.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The secret history of the Wilson-Queen war is finally reveled and certain revelations cause Rose to choose between blood and family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I know I haven't updated this series in a month, but I had a good reason because I was actually writing another fanfiction story called: A Prince's Legacy, focusing on Diana Prince's kid that I mentioned in the last chapter of this story. (See what I did there? Ultimate pun master!)  
> But on to this chapter, it will have some flashbacks or time skips, but I will try to make it clear when they happen. This chapter also has warnings for blood and violence, I'm not kidding when I say that some people will die.
> 
> Please feel free to leave comments because it really warms my heart when you do and to set the mood for this chapter, I suggest listening to the song: Free by SVRCINA.

 

* * *

Connor feels a peaceful cool wind brush against his bloody face, which is a strange because he also feels half dead and is about to fly through a window. He doesn't feel the impact of landing on the table or the impact of the glass shards cut up his back, or even the impact of the knife that was in his chest and an arrow still stuck in his left leg. He only feels the heaviness of his eyelids closing as he begin slip from this world, his last thought is always of his family.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE WE GOING TO DO?!" Olivia desperately screams at Rose, but she doesn't respond, doesn't even look at her, unable able to look away from Connor beaten, bloody and dying on the kitchen table as she clutches the bloody note in her closed fist. She recognizes the handy work of her father almost instantly, the broken bones, the face beaten beyond recognition, the countless deep sword cuts scattered around his body that will leave a trail of blood that will be difficult to clean out of the floor boards. She recognizes them because they are the types of injuries that Slade gave her and Grant during Ravager training.

"ROSE! TELL ME WHAT I'M SUPPOSED TO DO!" Olivia shakes Rose's arm as tears begin to stream down her face.

Olivia's words seem to spur Rose out of her dark thoughts to find that reality isn't much better. "Grab the towels and med kit, now! Do it now!" Rose kneels down and begins stripping away pieces of Connor's armor, her hands becoming drenched his blood in the process as Olivia runs off to do as she was told.

"Come on you little shit! You're not dying on me! I love you!" Rose says desperately, stanching the blood flowing from his chest wound. Connor mumbles incoherent words as he tries his best to reach up and touch her cheek, but simply can't find the strength due to his dislocated shoulder to lift his arm. "No, don't say goodbye yet. I'm going to save you, just stay with me... please."  Her voice breaking as leans in and kisses him deeply to cause any sort of response from him, but he still remains cold to her gentle touch. 

She pulls away and quickly spits his blood out of her mouth as Olivia runs back in the room, carrying the med kit and towels. She turns to Olivia, gives her a quick smile before turning back to Connor, noticing that he no longer breathing. "Oh fuck, I need a shot of adrenaline right now!" Rose shouts, beginning to do chest compressions and administering CPR.

"One... two... three... four... five." Rose pumps Connor's chest before sucking in a large breath of air a giving it to him, she repeats the process until Olivia hands over the adrenaline shot. She removes the safety cap with her teeth and spits it across the room.

"Is he dead? Please tell me he's not dead, I can't lose him too." Olivia clutches onto her hair for support in a world that she was starting to rebuild with the help of her new family and up to a few minutes ago wasn't it crashing around her. Memories from that night replay in her mind over and over again no matter how much she doesn't want them to, and now that Connor is bleeding out it feels like the walls of the home they have all built together are beginning to crumble.

"Yes... but not for long. Stand back." Rose shoves the large needle square into Connor's heart and pressing down on the plunger to administer adrenaline to get it going once again before holding an arm across Olivia's chest to guard her as Connor's eyes suddenly snap open and he sits up very frantically, grasping at the needle while removing it from his chest.

"W... wa... was I dead?" Connor asks groggily, he barely has time to allow his eyes to focus on the room before Olivia runs forward and wraps him a tight hug, so tight that the sound of his fragile bones popping can be heard in her tight hold. "I missed you too, smalls." He warps an arm around her back to reciprocate the hug as the fatigue caused by his injuries sets in.

Olivia feels Connor's body go limp in her arms, she pulls from the hug and sees his eyes and he seems to be unresponsive to her touch. She turns to Rose in the hope that there will any other ways to bring him back this time and Rose carefully places a bloody hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

"He's not dead this time, thank God, he's just passed out due to the pain. What I need to do is work fast to patch up his injuries before any permanent damage can occur." Rose places a rolled up towel under his head as a pillow and opens the med kit to take out the necessary tools to begin her work.

"Okay, I can help you. What do we do first?" 

Rose shakes her head and gives another warm smile to Olivia. "No, I know you want to help me and I greatly appreciate it, but this will go a lot faster I have peace and quiet to work. What I would like you to do is-"

Olivia places a hand on her shoulder to politely cut her off. "I know the drill by now, I know the routine. I'll take Harper into my room and wait." She sneakily picks up the bloody note off the floor before slowly walking over to the highchair to grab Harper and take her into her bedroom, but Rose quickly calls them back.

"Wait!" Rose looks back at Olivia and Harper with fear filled eyes as if she sees all the pain that her father has caused in their eyes and she doesn't know if she will be able to stop him, but she has to try. "We... we have routine? Has everything gone so bad for us that we have a routine for keeping you guys safe while Connor and I deal with the aftermath of whatever mess we made?"

Olivia notices the fear in her eyes and immediately steps closer to wipe away the tears streaming down her face. "It's not a routine that I particularly like and I hope that it will be ending soon,  but I know that I have you and Connor to protect us and if we fuck up we always find a way to come back from it... together, I honestly believe that should be our family mantra... speaking of which, can you fix my brother now?"

"Yeah, I got him, I'll come get you guys when it's safe to come out. I love you both." Rose is careful not to touch Olivia and Harper with her bloody hands as she leans in to give them each a kiss to their foreheads.

Well, it wouldn't be my first time coming out." Olivia jokes with herself to lessen the pain of situation as she turns to leave for her bedroom. "I love you too, Rose."

Rose waits until she hears Olivia's door shut before turning over a dining chair to sit down before holding one of Connor's bloody hands in her own, looking at him with a sad, heavy heart. "What am I going to do with you, huh?"

* * *

Connor's eyes suddenly snap open once again, his eyes dart around the room in a hurry, desperate to find something tangible to hold onto. The first thing he notices his torso is completely wrapped blood stained bandages and right arm is done up in a makeshift sling with Rose currently wrapping the wound on his left leg with shaky hands, he slowly reaches for her hand until he feels the tips of his fingers against hers.

"You were right. I would do the same for you." She gently squeezes his hand and gives him a tiny, reassuring smile before returning her focus back to his injuries. 

"Thank you for bringing me back, what would I do without you?" He asks with a tiny smile comes across his face, remembering that night in the school bathroom.

"You would be dead." Rose says cold and matter of factly. "In fact, you were dead for a few minutes back there and I wasn't sure if I could bring you back to life, but luckily I have seen the injuries that my father gave you before..." Rose trails off, not wanting to think of anything Slade had done to her during childhood.

"How are you feeling?" She asks, changing her tone to one of concern for Connor and his injures.

He notices Rose's in tone. "Well, I got stabbed and let me tell you it is not as fun as it looks in the movies." He jokes in hopes it will lighten the grim mood set by the events of the day.

"Just don't." 

"I'm sorry for bringing this violence into our home and having you clean up my mess... again. I don't deserve you, do I?" He asks sadly, truly believing that his statement is true.

"No, you don't, but you need me. It's like you said in that bathroom, we need each other and I need you to be okay because you make me happy, you make me want to be a better person when I feel the love given to me without expectation by you, Olivia and Harper. It honestly makes my shitty life worth living. So yeah, I'm always going to be here to patch you up." She says with a knowing smirk.

"Did I really sound that cheesy when I first said those words to you? But when you say them, you make sound better." Connor chuckles at the words he used to say while rubbing his now clean shaven face. "Did you shave my beard too?"

"Yes, I had to because it was the only way to properly clean the dried blood from your face, but don't worry. I was very gentle." She gestures over to a bowl of water that has a used handheld razor and a wet cloth she used to wash her hands clean of all blood.

"But it would seem that this patch work might take longer than usual and to pass the time until I'm finished I thought we could tell each other stories. Ohh, ohh, I know which one I want to hear. I want to hear the one about how you got your ass kicked six ways to Sunday and ended up dead on my dinner table! Yeah, I would like to hear that one." Rose stops what she's doing and stares at Connor, expecting an answer.

"Yeah, I suppose that I owe you that much."

Rose suddenly leans in and kisses his lips softly. "You owe me a lot more than that, Connor."

Connor takes a deep breath and closes his eyes for a moment as he tries his best to remember what happened tonight. "I was tracking a lead on a person that could find Roy Harper..."

* * *

One hour earlier. 

Connor squats down, looking down at Cheshire sitting down with her legs propped up on the desk through the skylight of the empty warehouse Artemis had tracked her down to, he takes a deep breath and puts his cowl on his head and prepares to jump down through the window. He fires a quick arrow to smash the light above her, he crashes through the window and loads another arrow on before he lands on the desk to break his fall.

"WHERE IS ROY HARPER!?" He asks with rage in his voice, wanting to get down business after the long, shitty night he has had.

Cheshire doesn't even seem be to phased by Connor's rather spectacular entrance, she just takes her feet off the desk before he lands and looks at him with a devilish smirk that sends a unsetting chill down his spine. "Oh hey, Connor. You're not the archer I was expecting."

"I bet not, where is Roy Harper?! I know you have a 'special relationship' with him so, tell me where is. Now!" He asks with a less of an angry tone this time, but more of a desperate one as if he was pleading for this night to end.

"Oh, like you have a 'special relationship' with your girl? Honestly, you guys are cute together and that kid of yours, she almost reminds me of L..." Jade trails off, completely unable to even say her name as she closes her eyes to catch the tear that is currently running down her face at the memory of her daughter's green eyes.

"You don't need to say it... I miss her too, we all do." Connor says sadly, lowering his bow before closing his eyes for a brief second to think about the family he has already lost and how he can't bare to lose this new family he's built with Rose and Olivia. "Look Jade, do you know where Roy is or not?"

"No... I haven't seen since that night he went off the deep end fifthteen years ago and I don't blame him for doing so because I did the same thing when she was killed." Jade bites her lip as more tears fall down her cheeks, unsure if she can bring herself to ask the next question. "Did they ever catch the guy? Not the guy we all thought killed my daughter, but the real guy?"

Connor nods slowly. "Yes, Oliver made it his personal mission to hunt the person responsible down and kill him, even after everything that had happened between he and Roy, Oliver still treated him like a son... until the very end." 

"Bye Jade, see you at Thanksgiving or the next family reunion." Connor says sarcastically turning toward the front exit leave the darkened warehouse, but she calls him back.

"Wait Connor, I want to give a gift. Well, technically it's a re-gift of a present that I received from a friend of mine, but my friend wanted to make sure that you got what was coming to you. Right, Slade?" She says with the devilish smirk returning to her face. 

The lights in the dark warehouse turn on with a very loud click and Connor loads an arrow when he suddenly finds himself face to face with Slade Wilson along with hundreds of militia soldiers with their weapons drawn, ready to attack him with deadly force.

"Oh shit."

* * *

"... I tired to fight and when I couldn't, I tired to run back here for your help. But they caught me and you know how that ended."

"So, was this before or after you visited your aunt and uncle? God, why didn't you tell me what you were planning? I would have understood, I would have helped you."

"WOULD YOU HAVE?" Connor snaps. "Would you have helped me? There is only one way this will end with either you and I dead or Slade dead. I am fully ready to kill him because he has taken too much from us already, way too much. I will never allow him to hurt anyone else ever again, most of all you and this family. What about you?"

Rose is silent for a brief moment, fighting an internal battle with herself on what her stance in this war that has gone on for too long will be when a memory in the form of question suddenly resurfaces from the back of her mind. 'Are you happy?' It was a very simply question and one that Olivia asked her over a year ago during one of the countless nights they spent on the couch together while she was pregnant. A tiny smile comes across her face as she closes her eyes to remember that night.

It was a simple night with a simple couch, a simple pile of unhealthy snacks, a simple T.V playing an episode of Legend Of Korra in the background and lastly, a simple question asked by Olivia.

"Rose, how do you see me? I mean, as a person?" Olivia asks hesitantly, getting up from the couch to change discs in the Blu-Ray player. Once she is done, she stands across the living room as far as she can get from Rose, afraid of the conversation they're about to have.

"What do you mean? Are you saying that you aren't a short girl with blonde hair, blue eyes who loves flowers, British science fiction shows, the Avatar franchise and the color pink?" Rose jokes while showing how much she knows about Olivia as she pats the couch cushion next to her, wanting Olivia to sit back down so they can begin the show again.

Olivia shakes her head vigorously. "No, well yes I am all of those things, but that's not I mean. Would you think less of me if I admitted a secret that I'm finally ready to admit to you and myself?" She looks down at her bare feet while her hands shake from nervousness before looking back at Rose with tears welling in her eyes.

"Rose, I'm gay."

The room is eerily silent for a solid minute with each person studying the other until Rose gives a nod and speaks up softy. "Come here."

Olivia immediately tenses up at the request, but walks toward the couch anyway. "I'm sorry if you think less of me, Rose. But it's who I am and-" She is cut off when Rose grabs and holds her in a tight, yet comforting hug.

"How could I think any less of you after you gave me a home and family when I didn't deserve one. I'm so glad you felt comfortable enough to tell me, kid. Listen to me, you can love whoever you love and if you love girls, I won't stop you. I will support you all the way, I just have to ask: are you comfortable with yourself? Are you happy?" Rose asks as they separate from their hug, her voice laced with concern.

Olivia smiles widely and nods as she wipes away the joyful tears from her eyes. "Yeah... I'm finally happy with the way I am, and I think spending all these nights on this couch with you have been helpful for me to discover things about myself that may have taken years to on my own. So yeah, I'm happy and I'm happy that you're here to support me... Rose, are you happy?"

Rose can't help but chuckle at the strange question because the lack of anyone asking her such a question ever in her life. "What? No one cares about my happiness."

Olivia's expression quickly changes to one of sad shock and disbelief at Rose's response, she quickly reaches over to hold her hand reassuringly. "I care, I care about your happiness. So, I'm going to ask again: are you happy?"

Connor notices the conflict on her face as she reopens her eyes and decides to drop the conversation with an exhausted sight. "We can move on now, just forget I asked."

"Yes, after years of abuse and neglect from Slade I'm ready to kill my father. Connor, I'm with you and this family all the way, don't ever doubt me. But if we are going to kill Slade, we need to come up with a concreate plan together, not go off half cocked and sleep deprived. Do you understand me?... Christ, how could you go off on your own like that when you could've been killed?"

"I had it handled, I was just outnumbered is all." Connor says weakly in defense of his solo actions of the night.

Rose simply scoffs at the fact that Connor keeps using such a flimsy excuse. "Yes, clearly you had an excellent handle of the whole situation without any need for a backup plan just incase it all goes south so, was being thrown through a window and landing on my dinner table apart of your master plan? If so, great job!" She says sarcastically with an heavy undertone of anger.

"I'm sorr-" 

"NO! I'm sorry is not enough this time! You could have been killed and I need you! I love you! I don't know how many times I have to scream it into fucking head until you understand, but I need you! Not just as my partner out there when we're kicking ass, but as a partner at home. Yet, it would seem like you've for-" Rose is cut off of her passionate rant when Connor uses all of his remaining strength to lift his upper body until his lips crash against hers in a sudden deep kiss.

"I haven't forgotten, I could never forget anything you say, not when it's you." Connor says in a hushed tone, gently pressing his forehead against hers while he wipes away tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I love you, so very much and I will say so every second of every day if I have to, I promise."

Rose can feel the warmth radiating from her red blushing cheeks as leans in gives him a quick, but passionate kiss. "Well, maybe not every second, but once every day sounds pretty good to me."

"I'm so sorry for going off like I did. I know it wasn't very smart, but after the day we've all had I just wanted to get answers on who hurt us by any means I could. I thought I had a lead on someone who knew Roy Harper like how we 'know' each other, but it turned just to be trap set by your father... I think they're working together. I can't believe I invited that bitch to Thanksgiving." He says to himself in a hushed tone.

"What do you mean 'know' each other? Like they had a baby? Like you and me had Harper?" She asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Yep, exactly. Her name was Lian Harper and she died fifthteen years ago during that attack on Star City by Gra..." Connor tenses up at the mention of his name again in Rose's presence. "... She was killed when Prometheus decided to attack the League members by destroying their home cities. She was another sad casualty of this war, she was the first casualty."

Connor takes a deep breath and lays back on the table. "I pray that we lose anyone else like Roy and Jade lost Lian because I know it will break me. I don't know what kind of man I'll be at the end of all of this and that scares me." He says shakily as if he is afraid of the lengths he is willing to go to end this war.

"If does it break you, just allow me to pick the broken pieces and put you back together. That's what's we do, that's what's we have to do for each other." Rose quickly glances down at Connor's dislocated shoulder. She knows it has to be put back into place and is it going to be incredibly painful to do so, she flashes him a fake smile to reassure him while slowly grabbing his arm without his notice. "Do you trust me?"

Connor rises his eyebrow and gives her a skeptical expression. "Yes, of AHHH-" He is cut off by the immense jerking pain and sound of bones shifting caused by Rose suddenly doing a procedure of popping his shoulder back into the socket. "AHH, WHAT THE HELL, ROSE!?" He opens and closes his eyes in shock while sticking his arm out and moving it in circles as the feeling comes back.

She quickly steps back and raise her hands in defense of her actions with a cheeky smile on her face. "Hey, you said yes. It's not my problem you didn't know what you were agreeing to besides, your shoulder was the last bone I had to reset before my work would be complete. We're done, lets just take it slow." Rose offers a hand to Connor, putting the other hand around his back, wiping off the stuck on piece of pizza as she helps him sit up and stand from the broken table.

"I can never thank you enough for saving me, but I'm going to anyway. Thank you again for saving me and I'm sorry I ruined your dinner plans with Olivia, I can go out and get you some more food, if you like?" Connor gently kisses Rose's cheek, which causes her to blush as she helps him put on clothes to cover his body before they slowly walk over to the couch and sit down together, he carefully lays his head on her shoulder for support.

"No! I want you to stay here and rest, you are done for the night. Please promise me that you will finally get the sleep you need and when you're done, I think Harper would like to see you for a little daddy-daughter bonding time while I'm out getting more food, I'm going to check on Olivia and Harper before I go." Rose says, her eyes scanning the room for the bloody note, but it's nowhere to be found.

"Did you know we kind of have a shitty routine for keeping them safe while we clean up our messes?" She asks with her breath shuddering with fear, remembering what Olivia said earlier.

Connor's breath shudders as he realizes the same fear she had earlier. "Yeah, I guess that I do now. I'm so sorry for that because I just had to come up with a quick plan to where I knew they would be safe, I've never meant for it to become a routine, but that's why we need to end this war between our families before it can escalate any further. If we end this war, we will break this need to have a routine to keep them safe and finally be happy. I just know it." He says optimistically with sleepy tone, struggling to keep his eyes open from the spot of comfort on Rose's shoulder.

Rose gently caresses the hair on top of Connor's head until he begins to drool on her shoulder as an indication that he has fallen asleep, she carefully takes his head in her hands guides it down to a pillow when she removes herself from the couch. "I  love you and I truly believe we will break this routine someday..." She leans in and softly kisses his cheek before marching off to check on Olivia and Harper. "But first, I need to break some bones!"

* * *

**Now I know where you live. Come find me. -SW**

Olivia's hands shake uncontrollably as she rereads the bloody note for what seems to be the twentieth time and yet, she is completely unable to understand the words written. Not the inability to understand the letters that make up the words and form the into two very clear sentences, but the inability to understand what the words mean for herself and her family. The more she reads the words, the more she can feel the walls crumble around her without any way to stop them, until Rose quietly knocks on her door.

"Hey kid, it's me. Can I come in please?"

Olivia quickly folds the note and shoves it in the pocket of her jeans. "Yeah, yeah come in." She smiles brightly at Rose as she comes in and sits closely to her on the bed before wrapping her in a very sudden, tight hug.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for subjecting to that horrible sight. I never meant to bring any violence into this home." She begins to cry into Olivia's shoulder, and Olivia rubs soothing circles on her back. 

Olivia gently holds Rose's face in her hands until their eyes meet. "Rose... look at me, do you remember what I said? If we fuck up I know we will come back from it, but all of us have to do it together. It will take some time, but we'll move on and it starts with a single step in the right direction so, what's going to be your first step?" She asks softly, wiping away her tears.

Rose gives an answer with the sound of her stomach grumbling. "I'm really hungry, I was going to get some more food for all of us at the Big Belly Burger on the outskirts of town, I just wanted to check on you guys before I go and I'm going to put you in charge of things around here while I'm out." She lies her true intentions to confront her father.

"Really? Why me?" Olivia asks skeptically,  her breath hitching on every word.

"Kid, do you really have to ask me that? Connor is resting, but he's going to be out of commission for a few days and I need you to be..." Rose is silent for a second to carefully choose her next words. "I need you to be my stone once again by watching him to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid or reckless while I'm gone. If you run the shop like I know you will run things around the house then I complete confidence in you to look after my reckless boyfriend and my little daisy. There's no one I trust more than you, Olivia."

Olivia can't help but smile at the compliment and her only smiles widens at the fact of Rose giving her such a compliment, her expression slowly changes to one of deep sadness and child like vulnerability as she comptemplates handing over the note. "If I'm in charge now, can I make a request of you? Whatever happens out there when you're getting food, whatever  _he_ tells you to try and sway you over to his side I want you to remember... no, I need you to remember that family don't end in blood."

"I need you to come back because you and me are family, you are my stone and I am yours. We're sisters." Tears begin to stream Olivia's cheeks as she finishes, causing Rose to instinctively sit closer to her on the bed and hold her in another hug.

"What's this about, kid? Are you alright?" Rose softy kisses the back of Olivia's hair, realizing she may have the bloody note.

"You called me your kid when you were confronting that solider guy earlier tonight, you said to the guy: You won't hurt my kids because you're out of bullets. I know that you were caught up with adrenaline and only concerned with the safety of Harper and I, but it's nice to know that we are close enough where you would consider me in that way."

Rose chuckles as the realization hits, but it has a hint of truth behind it because from the moment she put the seatbelt over her body the night they escaped the Queen mansion, her and Olivia have been intertwined in the same way she is with Connor. It's a different type of love  she feels for Olivia, but love nonetheless. "Yeah, I guess I took your nickname a little too literally in that moment. If I overstepped I apologize, you know I never mean to be a replacement for your parents, but my protective motherly instincts kick in whenever I'm around you or Harper."

"Yeah, I get that and I know you don't mean to replace my parents, having you here to look after us has been good for me because it's kind of a reminder of what having a mom used to be like, but I defiantly see you as a big sister and I hope you feel the same way about me." Olivia says with a tiny smile in hopes Rose will reciprocate her feelings.

Rose is surprised and taken aback by Olivia's words and to know that she and her have that kind of sisterly relationship is strange, it's certainly not a role she thought she would ever take on after the being the youngest of three children, but it's Olivia and feels she more than comfortable being her sister. "Of course I do, kid. Although, maybe I should stop calling you kid, I don't think of you as my kid, it's a nickname that has been used in my family for years. if that makes you uncomfortable, would you like a new nickname?"

Olivia's eyes go wide and she shakes her head vigorously in defiance of that question. "NO! definitely not! if you stop calling me kid, I will stab you. I know where you keep your very large collection of knives." She says with a knowing smirk, truly becoming accustomed to the name.

Rose chuckles as she gets up from the bed and goes over to Harper's crib to hold her close before going off to meet her father for the last time, knowing that everything has changed between them. "Alright, alright I gotta go, kid. But don't worry, I will come home baring gifts of double cheese burgers and cheese fires, I promise." She leans in a kisses the top of Harper's forehead before going to leave the room to give her to Connor.

"Are you going to see him? Slade Wilson? Please, don't lie to me." Olivia says, a desperate rage building in her voice. Olivia words cause Rose to turn back in shock to see her holding the note.

Rose sighs, going back over to sit on bed and slowly taking the note from Olivia. "Yes... I'm going off to meet my father, not as a friend and certainly not as his daughter anymore. Connor already tired to search for answers and you saw how that ended for him, I do not want anyone else in this family to be hurt because it's my job to protect you from any harm and if that includes my father, so be it. I'm going to see him for answers and answers only, if we can meet on peaceful ground maybe he will give me the answers I need. I love you and I love this family so I swear to you that I will be coming back. I promise."

"And, you trust him?" Olivia asks skeptically with an raised eyebrow.

"No."

"In that case, maybe you can bring Connor with you. He's pretty good with a bow and arrow, much to my surprise." Olivia says angrily, the rage in voice now directed at Connor for never telling her who he really was.

"No, he is still recovering and I want him to rest knowing everything is going okay, that's why I'm taking Harper to rest with him. Besides, I have to finally let go of the ghost of my past, this... this is something I have to do on my own." Rose takes a deep breath in and out to begin the process of finally healing from the years of her father's abuse.

Olivia gives an understanding nod, remembering the time Rose helped her heal from her own ghosts. "I get it even though I don't like it, but I get it. I still think you should tell Connor, you guys protect each other and that's what makes you guys so good together."

Rose smiles warmly with blushing cheeks while thinking of her boyfriend. Sometimes he can be a walking dumpster fire wrapped in a disaster, but he is her walking dumpster fire and she can't let him go. "I know, that's one the things I love about him, but it's my turn to protect him like I promised to protect us all."

"Alright, do you know where you are going to meet your father?"

"Somewhere I haven't been in fifthteen years, somewhere I swore to myself I would never go again." Rose says coldly, her eyes go dead and she stares off in the corner of the room as if she sees a ghost.

* * *

Dead fallen leaves crunch underneath Rose's combat boots as she hesitantly walks up a lone grassy hill to meet her father during the early hours of the morning sunrise, she spots him standing in front of a unmarked grave waiting, which makes her pace into slow fear filled steps when she finally reaches him. "Hello, father. It's been a long time." She says coldly with a mixture of fear and pure rage.

He doesn't even glance at her, continuing to be memorized by the grave as he says words that send a chill down her spine. "Stand up straight, Roselyn. Show some respect for the dead."

"Yes, sir." Rose does as she was told, completely hating herself for the fact he can still worm his way under her skin. They spend a moment in silence with Rose completely unable to look at the makeshift headstone she made when she was four years old even though she looks at the words on the headstone tattooed on her shoulder blade every day in the mirror.

The silence is finally broken when Slade crouches down to pick off a few small daisies growing out of the grass near the headstone, but Rose finds the courage to speak up and stop him with anger in rage in eyes. "Leave them, they're pretty!" She growls at him, thinking of her daughter.

Slade nods and stands to hia feet, wanting to be civil for Rose. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me."

Rose simply scoffs at Slade's attempt to be nice and polite to her when she knows that's not in his character. "I came here for an apology and an explanation, I expect to have both. Can you please make it quick? I've had a really long sleepless night."

"What f-" Slade doesn't get to finish his sentence before Rose sends a punch cracking across his face, hurting him unlike anything he has ever felt in his years of pain as Deathstroke.

"You know exactly what for! You think you can send some cannon fodder solider to destroy my house, hurt my family? My boyfriend? My sister? My daughter? and I wouldn't hunt you down with a vengeance! I thought we had one rule, I thought we didn't hurt kids!"

Slade looks up at his daughter in shock as he stumbles on his feet, tries to recover and for the first time ever, he feels fear in her commanding presence. "You're right, we don't kids. I'm sorry."

"THEN, WHY DID YOU FEEL THE NEED TO HURT MINE!?" She growls, preparing to hit him again, but decides to show him mercy out of pity once she spots blood gushing from his nose and mouth, seeing him bleed for the first time is more than enough.

"I'm sorry, Rose. That solider was only supposed to bring back to me because it's time to stop playing these kiddie games and come home before someone truly gets hurt. Please, I want us to be a family again, kid." He tries to give a kind smile, but combined with the blood trickling down his face and the devilish look in his eye only comes off as more dishonest.

This sends Rose beyond her breaking point and she punches him regardless of the mercy she felt before. "DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME KID AGAIN! YOU DON'T DESERVE THE RIGHT OR THE PRIVILGE TO CALL ME THAT NAME ANYMORE!"

Slade simply chuckles as a devilish smirk and blood overcomes his entire face. "And, you do? Please tell me, how is Olivia coping after the death of mommy and daddy dearest?"

She gives him a final punch with enough force to send him to the ground on his stomach, she quickly crouches down before grabbing the back of his hair and yanking his head up until their eyes meet. "If you ever come near her, Connor, or my daughter I will kill you without even a second thought. Your last sight of this world will be the sight of my boot standing on your neck before I break it! Do you understand me, father?" She speaks with a calm that hides the storm of rage in her eyes.

Rose doesn't even wait for him to respond, she stands up and wipes the blood dripping from her knuckles off on her jeans before leaving for her car. Slade sits up and looks at his daughter with fear and pride as he spits blood into the grass. "Are you threating me, Rose?"

"Yes!" She continues to walk off until her father calls her back with a truly surprising question.

"Why do you care for them so much?" He asks, for the first time sounding like a genuine caring father. 

Rose looks back at Slade in shock because she never thought he would ever ask her such a question. She quickly regains her composer and thinks of her family with a warm smile, but her eyes remain cold. "They gave me a home. They gave me love. They gave me a family."

"Connor was the first person who ever gave me a home where I feel safe and welcome in his company while we live a life  we've built together. It started as friendship, a friendship where we need each other because we're lonely. Do you want to know why I love him, father? I love him because he sees all of me, the broken parts you left after years of abuse, but he also sees the bright spots you never cared to look at, to him I'm much more than some weapon to used against your enemies and one day I will actually believe I am much more than that. He sees everything I am and yet, he still wants to be with me. Even when he left, he came back sorry and willing to work with me to rebuild our relationship together when no one else ever did. He came back a broken man and I forgave him because I saw the good man that I love. I have always loved him."

"Olivia gave me love when I don't deserve it, she absolutely hated when we first met. She was hunted by nightmares that started after you put two bullets in her parents head's and I was the only person able to help her, I did it all while I was alone and pregnant. We came together to work through our demons every night on that stupid fucking couch when we had no one else, but I don't want anyone else to be on that couch with me because that couch is our space and I love her knowing she loves me too. Even when I try to push her away, she comes back to give me love without expectation because she knows I deserve love and she deserves my love too."

"Connor and Olivia are my family, but my family wasn't complete without my daughter. My beautiful baby girl is the person I didn't know I needed, but I can't live without. She is everything that makes Connor and Olivia good people and I hope, god I hope I'm doing right by her because she deserves me to be good for her. I'm trying to be good for her without the child abuse and harmful words, with only the love and support my family gave me. I can never thank them enough. You know what's funny? The best you ever did for me as a father was leave me in a burning house."

Rose takes a deep breath before continuing. "We may be blood, but we are not a family, we haven't been a family since Grant died and you left Joey to rot in that Russian work prison. I am ashamed to be your daughter because you say that you want to be a family again, but did it ever occur to you that I'm finally happy with the family I have? That the people you call your enemies make me happy?"

Slade simply shakes his head. "No."

"Figures. " Rose scoffs as she comptemplates turning and leaving for her car once again, but her feet stay planted where they stand in the grass as she as asks her next question. "Why do you hate them so much?"

Slade's expression subtly changes from a stone cold assassin to a sad vulnerably, almost if he was about to speak of an old friend. "The Queen family took everything from us. It was slow and gradual, it didn't used to be that way. Ollie and I were friends, we were brothers on that island. I trained him to fight, to survive while he trained himself with that stupid archery kit left by Yao Fei, and how did he repay me? by putting an arrow in my eye before leaving me to drown on that God forsaken ship."

"We fought for years and Oliver brought Dinah in with him, the three of us eventually came to understanding to stay out of each other's way when you kids were born, but come together if ever needed the other's help. For a while I had my friend back until Grant died." He gestures to the grave behind him with a heavy sigh.

"What are you talking about? You told me you killed Grant because he failed to kill the original Teen Titans team." Rose clenches her fists in anger at her father's lies as she fights back tears brought on by thinking of Grant again.

"No, that's only half of the truth, I told you I killed him to spare you pain. I would rather you absolutely hate me then the Queen family because I saw how close you were getting to the Queen boy and I thought I could that relationship as leverage, truly I didn't want you to lose your only friend." Slade turns in the direction of the grave and begins walking away as Rose screams to give her answers.

"WAIT! WHO KILLED GRANT?! WHAT HAPPEND THAT NIGHT?!" Rose falls onto her knees and punches at the grass in anger while tears freely stream down her face.

"Ask your boyfriend, he knows everything. Goodbye, Rose."

* * *

"What are you doing, smalls?" Connor asks sleepily as he sits on the kitchen floor with Harper laying on his chest, clutching onto his t-shirt in her sleep while Olivia is crouched in front of them, ready to take a picture of the two of them with her photography camera.

"It's called a photo. Now smile." Connor does as Olivia told him to do and gives a charming, boyish smile to the camera seconds before he hears the shudder click without the flash as not to wake Harper.

"How'd it turn out? Can I see?" Connor scoots over from his spot against the fridge to give Olivia enough space to sit next to him. She quickly sits down and leans over to show him the photo she just took along the rest of the photos on the camera roll with most of them being photos of Harper and the three of them. Connor smiles, noticing his sister's impressive shot composition and skill with the camera. "These are great, but what's with the pictures of Harper and the family?"

Olivia smiles at the compliment as she nods. "I started taking photos when Harper was born, in fact you guys are going to be my big end of the semester project for photography class. My teacher said to shoot what I know and I'm pretty much a shoe in for an A because she absolutely loves photos of babies. Do you want to see one of my favorites?"

Olivia watches Connor nod as she scrolls through her photos until she finds the one she wants to show. It's a shot colored in black and white taken with Olivia standing at a forty degree angle from behind. A photo of Connor sitting at the piano they have in the living room, playing a few keys for Harper while she lays beside him in a basinet. "I call it: The Man At The Grand Piano."

"Honestly, it's been so long that I didn't think you remembered how to play." Olivia compliments Connor, remembering how skilled he was with the piano as a young child.

Connor chuckles as he remembers the same thing. "It's like mom said when she taught me, it's about muscle memory. I'm good, but rusty and lets just say that I won't be playing at Carnegie Hall any time soon."

"Still, it's one of my favorite memories of you."

"Really? What was your favorite one of me?" He asks causing Olivia to snicker at a memory she is about to share.

"Do you remember the morning after your prom? You probably don't because you were a state between drunk and hungover, but I do. You stumbled in the kitchen with the drunken pace of Jack Sparrow while I was sitting down to have breakfast, you yelled 'cinnamon rolls' as set down at full box of the rolls in front of me before kissing the side of my head and going off to another room. I found you sleeping on the floor of your bedroom and it seem you didn't even make a try for bed so I put a pillow under your head, covered you with a blanket and placed your Raphael Ninja Turtle Build A Bear in your arms before closing the door behind me."

"I must've been really drunk that night because I don't remember any of that. Thank you, Olivia..." Connor trails off when a sad realization comes into his mind, he takes a deep breath before speaking once again. "I never said thank you. I never said thank you for taking care of Rose along with other things around here during the nine months I was away when I couldn't... when I wouldn't."

Olivia takes Connor's hand to stop it from shaking. "You're welcome. You have always taken care of me when we growing up, but that was the first time I got to take care of you. Don't thank me for the nine months, I did that for Rose and Harper, only them." She says with a hint of anger and resentment in tone before she calms down. "That cinnamon roll memory is last happy one I have before everything changed, before everything was different."

"Different how?" Connor asks in curiosity.

Olivia takes deep breath and smiles. "Everything is different about the lives we lead now. I won't lie, somethings I miss about my old life, like mom and dad. Do you miss them as much as I do? Do you miss dad's sarcastic wit and mom calling you pretty bird as much as I do?"

Connor nods slowly, thinking about how he would give up every stupid thing he begged his parents to buy for him over the years be with them once again just for one day. "Yeah, I do... Before they died, did they ever say they were proud of you? because they certainly didn't tell me. I tired and tried to make them proud of me, I thought I would have more time to hear it from them when was I older, but then I got them killed. So, did they ever say they were proud of you?"

"You didn't get them killed and don't ever think that! Do you understand me? They died so all of us could live that night. Regardless of what our parents thought of us I don't think it matters now. We are different people now, older and more experienced people, the three of us are people who've experienced way too much tragedy and come out stronger and better people. I would like to think mom and dad would be proud of the three of us, in fact I know they would be because I am proud of us."

"Thanks, Olivia. Somebody has to be proud of us." Connor says sadly, not thinking he is worthy of such a compliment after all the horrible things he has done to his family.

Olivia shakes her head, noticing Connor's sad tone. "No, listen to me. I'm proud of us, I'm proud of the people we are now and I'm proud of the journey we had to take to become those people. I like the people we are now because they are good people, certainly people who had grown and changed. Look at us now, I'm gay, a successful business woman with a kick ass flower shop, you are a vigilante like mom and dad used to be, who has a baby daughter and a badass girlfriend. We're not those kids anymore."

"I miss the kids we were, do you?"

Connor breaths deeply, looking down at his hands as if he can see the blood of everything he has done. "I do, all the time... all the time."

Olivia and Connor spend a few more minutes remembering their childhood memories until they hear the jiggling sound of the knob on front door seconds before Rose steps through with a bag of fast food in her hands and tears of anger on her face, they both stand to their feet as she angrily stomps toward them.

She clenches her fist, noticing Harper being held in Connor's arms. "Connor, please hand my daughter to Olivia." Rose says, hiding her rage as she puts the food on the counter.

Connor is confused as to why Rose seems to be different then the time she had left when he notices the tears in her eyes. "Rose, are you-"

"DO IT NOW!" Rose waits for Harper to be safely transferred to Olivia's arms, completely making sure that she is away from Connor as she punches him in the jaw hard enough to send him to the floor before he has a chance to react. "DID YOU KNOW!? DID YOU KNOW ABOUT GRANT!?"

"Rose, what are you talking about? What happened while you were getting food?" He asks, quickly standing to his feet as he wipes away the blood from his mouth.

"What happened to my brother?" Rose steps closer to Connor to hit him again, but Olivia quickly steps between them, causing her expression to immediately soften.

Olivia gently pulls her aside so they can speak privately as Connor sits in a chair and tries to recover. "Rose,  please tell me did something happen when you met with your father?" She asks softly while wiping away Rose's tears.

"M-my father finally told me what happened to Grant, h-how he really died and when I demanded answers  he said to ask Connor because he knows everything. I can't believe I ever loved Connor. Now, I'm going to get the answers I need from him, by any means necessary." Rose says coldly with a hint of sadness as she marches toward Connor, but Olivia puts a hand out to stop her. 

"First of all, you and I both know you still love him. Second of all, if Connor knows something about your brother's death, we can find out what happened together. But promise me there will be no more violence in this house tonight, I don't think Harper would like her parents fighting." They both smile at Harper as she giggles in Olivia's arms and Rose gives a nod to Olivia before they walk over to meet Connor. 

Olivia stands between them to act as buffer just in case Rose decides to hurt Connor, she turns toward her brother with a very serious and angry expression. "Rose wasn't only getting dinner for us while she out, but she also went to speak with her father to get answers about why he attacked us tonight-"

"WHAT?! Why wasn't I told about this, I could've-" Connor angry rises from his chair.

"That's not the point, Connor." Olivia says calmly. "He told her that you know everything about what happened to Grant Wilson that night he died because mom and dad told you, didn't they? Did they tell how Grant died that night?"

"Yes." He says in a whisper, but loud enough for everyone to hear as he hangs his head in shame.

"Who killed him?"

"Olivia, there's one thing you have to understand about me, mom, and dad when we are out there as heroes. Sometimes we have to commit horrible acts in the name of peace, in the name of sanctity-"

"WHO KILLED HIM!?" Olivia repeats in a shout, tears begin running down her face, her legs staring to buckle as she becomes increasing afraid of the answer Connor is about to give. He breathes deeply, knowing a long buried secret is about to become unearthed.

"Oliver Queen."

Olivia immediately collapses under the weight of hearing of the name she didn't ever expect to be said with both Connor and Rose coming to her aid before she falls, but Rose is first to catch her and Harper in a comforting hug. She checks that Olivia is still awake before looking at Connor with tears of rage in her eyes. "What happened that night?!"

Connor takes another deep breath to give himself courage for the story he is about to tell. "It was said that Grant was hunting the original Teen Titans team when he was killed. No, he was being hunted by Roy Harper while the other Titans tried to stop him..."

* * *

Fifthteen years earlier- 2009.

"Focus Titans, we can't lose him." Robin says desperately through the com link to his teammates as they continue to chase after Arsenal, who is chasing down the first Ravager with deadly vengeance.

"Ravager! Come back here so I can kill you!" Roy sing songs sinisterly, firing a few arrows that whiz past Grant in hopes of hitting his head to match the arrow already in his leg.

"I didn't kill her, I swear." Grant says weakly in defense as he shoots at Roy with his pistols in hopes to dissuade him from continuing this chase as he barely struggles to get away from him.

"What's the play, boss man." Kid Flash races next to Robin, clearly out of breath as they continue jumping from rooftop to rooftop.

"Roy isn't in the right state of mind right now, you're the fastest on the team, you can stop him before he takes action. Do you think you can get him to calm down before he has a chance to kill this guy?"

"I can try." Wally races off until he stands just a few feet in front of Roy as he fires an arrow that would have easily shot Grant in his weakened state, but Wally is able to catch the arrow in mid air seconds after it leaves the bow string. Roy tries to fire more arrows, but Wally catches them just he had the first one and throws them on the ground on with an exhausted sigh. "Roy, you know you I can stop you before you can ever fire another arrow. I'm begging you to listen to us, you're grieving and hurting so let us bring Ravager in for questioning then you will have the answers about her death."

"I know you can stop me, but I wont let you. That's why I need to slow you down." Roy takes two arrows from his quiver and jams them through each of Wally's kneecaps to incapacitate him, barely caring about Wally's screams of pain as he begins running after Grant once again.

"Wally!" Beast Boy yells as he transforms back from an eagle and quickly landing to check on friend with the other Titans not soon behind. "He's hurt, what are we going to do?" He asks Robin, the desperation in his voice is clear.

"Wally, I'm so sorry." Dick says, his voice breaking at the sight of seeing his friend hurt.

Wally shakes his head and gives a weak smile. "It's not your fault, boss man. We need to stop our friend before he hurts himself or does something he'll regret, so what's the play?"

Dick takes a deep breath, regaining his composer as the leader in process while the rest of the team is gathered and waiting for an order. "Starfire, Wonder Boy, Raven, I need you to chase after Roy. Stop him by using means necessary without deadly force, I will join you after Wally is secure."

"What if we can't stop him?" Hunter asks, unsure of his abilities.

"We cannot give up on our friend, but we do not have much time to lose." Kori says while flying after Roy, Raven opens a teleportation portal for Wally to be moved to safety before catching up with her in the air as Hunter closely keeps pace with them on the ground.

Dick shares a look of uncertainty with Garfield as Wally passes out from pain while they carefully move him through the portal. "Do you have him under control?" He asks, and Garfield gives a shaky nod. "Call Oliver and Dinah! Right now!" Dick shouts, stumbling into a running pace to join the chase.

Roy is easily able to shoot an arrow through Grant's other leg to slow him down before tackling him off the building and through a the window of a abandoned building across the street. Their bodies have barely hit the floor before Roy lands a fury of punches to Grant's face with no intention of stopping while tears stream down his own. "DO YOU EVEN REMEMBER KILLING HER!? DO YOU KNOW MY DAUGHTER'S NAME!?"

Grant looks up at Roy through the broken, bloody Ravager cowl on his head with tear filled eyes. "Yes, but I didn't kill her. I have one rule, I don't kill kids. Please, you have to believe me."

Roy shakes his head in disillusion as he stands to his feet and loads an arrow on the bow string before aiming it directly at Grant's forehead. "It doesn't matter now, she's gone and the only comfort I take in your death is to know wherever Lian is in Heaven, I'm about to send you somewhere worse. Goodbye, Mr. Wilson."

Grant closes his eyes as the arrow fires, for the first and last time he feels afraid. If his father was here, he would tell him not to be so and to fight back until the very last breath, but he isn't here and Grant is too tired to fight back. He is too tired to feel anything except fear. The arrow lands with a thunk and he reopens his eyes to find that he is still alive with the arrow mere inches beside his head and  Roy being tackled by Hunter.   

"Go! Get away!" Hunter shouts desperately at Grant as he struggles to hold Roy on his stomach with his arms behind his back. "Please listen to us, we are your friends. We are here to help process your grief in a healthy way." Roy is able to break out of the hold on him and elbow Hunter in the face to get him away, even though Hunter is stronger, he is also the youngest and most inexperienced member on the team. 

"You won't get away from me again! Roy grabs his bow and loads three arrows on top of each other before firing them through Grant's right shoulder, chest and left thigh, instantly pinning him to a concrete wall as he tried to stand.  Roy slow stalks toward Grant with the final arrow loaded and ready to kill him, but the arrow is vaporized in midair by a green energy blast

Kori floats into the abandoned building through a large hole in the celling, carrying Dick safety in one arm while her other hand is smoking from the previous energy blast, she lands on the ground and gives Roy an expression of friend concern. "Roy, you know I can destroy your arrows before they can ever touch Grant. Please stand down and let us talk to you before you do something to regret, something you cannot come back from."

"I have no intention of coming back from this and I'm done talking." Roy raises his bow with another arrow loaded, but Dick puts a gentle hand on his shoulder to in attempt to calm him down.

"Is he done talking?" Dick gestures over to Grant as he struggles to breathe with his injuries. "Is he done talking? If you are going to kill him, give him a chance to explain himself about Lian's death as a sort last words."

Roy turns to his friend and for the time tonight, showing sadness and vulnerability as tears steam down his face. "What could he have to say? My daughter is dead and he killed her, even if he didn't, how do we know he isn't lying about something else to do with her death?

Hunter hesitantly steps forward from the background. "I borrowed my mother's lasso tonight, we can use it to get the answers we need."

"You can't be serious! Maybe afterwards, we can use it as a jump rope." Roy says sarcastically with a scoff of disbelief.

"Do you have a better idea?" Dick looks at Roy with a stern expression and watches him sigh and shake his head, he turns to Hunter and nods. "Do it."

Hunter removes the lasso from his belt and slowly walks toward Grant, fear overcomes his face as he approaches the older man. Kori notices the fear on his face and places a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Would you like help, Hunter?"

He nods and they both slowly walk toward Grant together, he waits for Grant to give him a nod of consent before he and Kori begin wrap his wrists in the lasso. "The Lasso of Hestia compels anyone under its influence to speak the truth, I am going to ask you some questions about the death of Lian Harper." Hunter backs away, keeping a tight grip on the lasso as it lights up to signify it has taken effect. "Did you kill Lian Harper or have anything to do with her death?"  

"No, I didn't kill her. It was Prometheus who killed her during his failed siege of Star City last week. I was trying to get my younger siblings to safety while the city was going to shit. I tried to stop and fight him before she was stabbed, but a large piece of rubble fell between us and I had to run to safety. Prometheus must have seen me and decided to frame me for her murder. I'm a bastard who has killed a lot innocent people, but I didn't kill her, I don't kill kids I'm sorry I failed to save your daughter, I'm so sorry." Tears stream down his face as he finishes while Hunter removes the lasso.

"So he didn't kill my daughter, he still deserves to die for all of the innocent people he has killed. Trust me, I'm doing the whole world a favor by killing this son of a bitch." Roy quickly fires an arrow at Grant's head before any of the other Titans can react, the arrow is knocked off course by a green arrow hitting it in midair to everyone's surprise.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!?" Oliver Queen yells, lowering his bow and jumping down into the building through the hole in celling with Dinah Lance by his side.

Roy immediately tenses up at the sight of his mentors, but regains his angry expression. "What do you mean? I'm getting justice for my daughter's murder, don't tell me that you two don't want justice for her too, what if it was Connor?" He loads another arrow, but Oliver quickly steps in before he can fire.

"That's not the point, Roy. Yes, Dinah and I want justice for Lian's murder as much as you do, but this isn't the way to do it, not when you are just looking for someone to blame. Do you think she would want to see you this way?"

Dinah places a motherly hand on Roy's cheek, noting the dark circles under his eyes. "Roy, when's the last time you slept or ate something? Please come with home with us. We will find a way to get justice for Lian properly, I promise you that." She says softly, trying to calm him down.

"Can't you see I'm doing this for her? She deserves justice and I'm going to get it for her. I will not let any of you stop me." Roy says with desperation of a grieving parent clear in in voice before pushing to get to Grant, but Oliver gently shoves him back.

"I will stop you if I have to... please don't make me do this." He says as a threat before his tone turns sad, unable to see Roy as anyone except the little 10 year boy that he adopted nine years ago.

Roy is about to take action to hurt Oliver with deadly force when Raven suddenly comes between them by floating through the floor in her astral form before landing and quickly puts her hand on his head, her thumb on his forehead. "Sleep." She sends a spell to his to his brain that instantly knocks him unconscious with Dinah catching him as he falls.

She and Oliver share a nod of conformation that Roy is okay before he looks at the other Titans with a stern, yet concerned expression. "What happened?"

The Titans all stare down at their feet nervously, unsure of who should answer first until Robin to speak for his team. "Roy went off the deep end tonight when he found out who he thought killed Lian. We all tried to stop him before he did something drastic, but we were too late and Wally is hurt badly because of it. What's gonna happen to us now?" He asks with a scared tone.

"You kids did well tonight. Wally and Garfield are resting at the Watchtower and that's where Dinah is going to take you so you guys can go home." Oliver crouches down, looking at Roy with sad parental eyes before looking at his wife to find that she shares his expression. "Are you going to be okay with getting these kids out of here?"

Dinah nods, continuing to hold Roy in her arms as she softly caresses his cheek. "Yeah, I'm going to need some help carrying Roy out of here in his unconscious state, I will make sure Connor doesn't see him like this, but he will fine." She notices Grant's massive and intensive injuries while he still pinned against the wall. "What about Grant? He's not to make it with the injures he has."

Oliver notices the same thing with a heavy sigh. "I don't know, I will see what I can do to fix this. Please be safe while getting home." He says shakily, closing his eyes for a brief second with his hand tightening around his bow, unsure if he can do what must be done.

"I will." She looks at the Titans before continuing. "Alright kids, we are leaving now. Hunter, do you think you can help me carry Roy out here?"

"What's going to happen to us? Do you have tell my mother?" Hunter says shakily with fear, holding Roy by the feet with Dinah continues holding his head as they walk in tandem out the building with the other Titans following.

"Yes Hunter, I have to tell Diana, but everything is going to be alright." She says, stepping through Raven's teleportation portal to the Watchtower with the kids. 

Oliver waits until they have disappeared from view to walk over to Grant, taking a closer at his injuries as he approaches while removing the hood and domino mask from his head. He crouches in front of him and reaches over to same with his Ravager cowl, his eyes go wide when he realizes how young he is with looking to around to Roy's age of nineteen years old and to think that Roy did all of this to him, breaks his heart. "Oh Christ, I'm so sorry."

"That bad, huh?" Grant says with a sad chuckle, wincing in pain when the arrows in his body shift when he laughs. He grasp at the one in his chest to try and remove it, but Oliver waves him off.

"No, if you remove the arrows in your body, you will bleed out and die. These arrows will keep you alive while we wait for the paramedics to come, I'm going to stay with you until they arrive."

Grant chuckles again as blood drips down mouth. "Thank you, Oliver. But you and I both know that I'm already dead, these arrows are just delaying the inevitable."

Oliver gives a sad, regretful nod of conformation. "Do you need anything from me before you go?"

"Water, do you have water?"

Oliver nods, grabbing a small canteen of water from a pouch on his belt before bringing to Grant's lips and helping him drink. After he is done, Grant smiles politely as if to say thank you. "Can I ask you a question? Do you have kids or anyone you have to look after?"

Oliver smiles, thinking of the brightness in his young son's eyes. "I have a son, his name is Connor and he just turned four. He loves archery, Robin Hood and superhero comic books, I should be proud that he's takes after me so much, but it scares the hell out of me when considering the dangerous lives we lead and it scares me even more because Dinah and I are going to start trying for another child soon. What about you? You don't look like a parent."

"I'm not, but I have two younger siblings. Rose is four as well and Joey is fourteen, they only have me to look out for them. Once I'm gone, they will only have my father's wrath as comfort and I will not allow him to corrupt them into being a solider in his sick games like he did me. You have to promise me something Oliver, you have to promise me that you and your family will look after them when I'm gone."

"Now, you don't have to adopt them, I know that's something you rich folks like to do because I've seen that Bat freak pow around Gotham with that kid. Just look after them... and do one more thing for me. I'm sorry Lian died, I didn't kill her though so I want you to find the real guy who did and kill him before he has a chance to kill anyone else."

"I promise, you have my word on everything." 

Grant sighs deeply, accepting what is about happen as tears begin to stream down his face. "I'm so scared to die alone, I don't want to die alone. I don't want to die slowly and painfully like this." He glances at the bow down at Oliver's side before looking the quiver of arrows on his back. "Kill me! I want you to kill me."

Oliver looks at the boy in shock, unable to fathom why he would make such a request. "I'm not going to kill you, maybe there's another-"

"NO! there's not another to save me and even if there was, it won't be long before my injuries take me anyway. Please Oliver, kill me because it hurts too much to be alive right now."

"Are you sure about this? I mean, absolutely certain about this?" Oliver stands up, backs away from Grant to have the range to do this as he hesitantly loads an arrow on the bow string and aims it at his head.

"Do it. Please, do it." He says with certainty, at his request, Oliver fires the arrow to kill him by shooting him in the left eye, the same eye he took from his father years earlier.

* * *

Rose doesn't know how to react upon finally hearing what really happened to her brother because if she was in the same situation, she would hunt down the person who dare hurt her family to kill them without mercy or remorse because that is what they deserve. She steps forward to Connor, knowing that her defensive walls have gone up again as she gives a hard slap across the face of one the two people that ever managed to break them down. "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you ever tell me? I thought I could trust you most of all."

"I'm so sorry. I was told not to tell so my family could protect you and Joey in secret, but that isn't true. The truth is you are my friend and I didn't want to lose you, I was trying to protect you, I was trying to protect my family and the name that comes with it for as long I could because I wanted to believe my parents were still good people, I wanted to believe I am still a good person, when I'm not."

Rose sighs, wiping away tears of love and loss. "That's funny because I thought we were family, I won't make that mistake again." She walks off to her bedroom with Harper in her arms to be alone, but Olivia grabs arm to stop her before she can get very far.

"Wait! What do you mean? We are family and we can come back from this like we always do. You have to believe me, I know we can." Olivia says desperately with a hint of hope as tears form in her eyes at the thought losing her friend possibly forever.

"Let me go, kid. I want to be alone right now... please." Rose is unable to look at Olivia or Harper in her arms knowing she will feel only hatred for them when they don't deserve it, hatred that no one in her family deserves.

Olivia lets go of her hand and waits until she walks into her bedroom and closes the door behind before walking over to Connor, his face tenses up as she reaches over to slap it. "I can fix this, just let me fix this." He tries to move to Rose's room, but Olivia puts a hand on his chest and shoves him back.

"Stop saying that! You always say that, but you never really mean it because you always end up making everything worse then if you hadn't tried at all. I'm going to fix this and I actually mean it. When I get back, you and I are going to have a talk about everything that you, mom, and dad have hidden over the years, all of it! There's just one thing I have to know now. You said that you weren't a good person, but only a person who has done horrible things would say that. Have you ever killed anyone?"

Connor sighs heavily and looks at his sister with a regretful sadness, knowing he is about to lose the small amount of childlike innocence he has left. "Yes."

Olivia's knees begin to buckle under the weight of everything that has happened tonight and hearing about her father and brother in such a way only adds to it. She goes over to Rose's bedroom door and finally collapses against it with tears streaming her face. "Rose, if you can hear me, please take a moment to breathe. I know you are probably packing your bags to leave us, taking Harper with you and I wouldn't blame you for doing so after what happened tonight, but I am asking you to stay when I have no right. I am being selfish when I say that I don't want my family to leave, I need you and Harper just as much as I need Connor. Please don't leave me."

Rose looks down at the empty suitcase on her bed with a heavy sigh before her eyes shift over to Harper in her arms, no longer feeling hatred for her or anyone in her family. They smile at each other as a reminder that this family has always been here for her and she need to be here for them, they had no control over what happened the night Grant died and while Connor didn't tell right away her, she still loves him because he told her the truth about her brother and also admitted the faults of himself and his family.

She slowly zips up the suitcase and puts it back in her closet to be used possibly for another day, maybe for a vacation once everything with her father is over. She goes over to her bedroom door while making sure Harper is still secure in her arms as she sides down against it, knowing Olivia is on the other side. "I'm not going to leave, kid. I still love all of you, but I can't be around you guys right now without feeling hatred, hatred none of us deserve. I just want to be alone."

Olivia sighs. "I understand, do you mind I stay against your door tonight? I won't say anything, I just want to keep you company like you did for me during my nights alone. I want to know you will still be here in the morning."

"Alright kid, but I want you to sleep. We all need some sleep."

"Can I join you?" Connor asks quietly, approaching Olivia hesitantly and waiting for a response.

She nods and scoots over to give him enough to sit down, feeling too tired and alone to fight anymore. Eventually, she falls asleep on Connor's shoulder that night after crying silent tears because she know the walls of the house they have built together have now broken down completely without the slightest of hopes that they be built up in the same way ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I kind of dropped the ball by not mentioning the character of Joseph Wilson because I sort of forgot the character existed until he appeared on the Arrow during the season six Deathstroke two parter and to be honest with you all I thought Slade only two kids in Grant and Rose, but I do have an idea for bring him into the story as a minor character, if you guys would like to see that.
> 
> It's going to take some time for the relationship between the three leads to become what it once was, but I'm going to lay off the dark drama in the next few chapters because we're going time traveling. (I swear I will explain it all when we get around to it.) I don't know I will be writing the next chapter of this story because I will alternating writing this story with my other one.
> 
> I want to thank you all for reading this story and I hope you all are enjoying it as the chapters keep chugging right along.  
> Thank you, it's like 4 A.M and I'm going to sleep.


	8. Fast Car.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When one of their friends is stuck in time, Rose and Connor must put aside their feelings for each other and come together with the Justice League to save him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I'm back writing the overdue return chapter of this story after a long break to write my other story. I just wanted to say sorry for taking so long to update and a thank you to everyone for sticking with the story over the long hiatus, but let's get onto the chapter. Title is taken from the song of the same name by Tracy Chapman.

* * *

West-Queen family household - Keystone City.

"Kids! What did I tell you about using your powers as we're doing test on Sam, all this speed is making him nervous and very queasy!"

Jai and Iris stop running around Wally's Speed Lab and appear suddenly in front of Artemis, trying to look innocent as they begin speaking at the same time. "Sorry, mommy. We're just excited about a new Speedster, we want to see what Sam can do."

"It's okay, Artemis. I'm excited too, I'm excited to finally get the metaphorical training wheels off and show what I've learned over these last months."

"Are you sure?" Wally asks, both he and Artemis put comforting hands on his shoulders. Sam nods, but Wally still remains cautious. "Alright, then you stick to me like glue, understand? I don't want to lose you, your sister would kill me."

"Like glue, I understand. Just tell me when we're about to Zoom off, Professor. I can't wait to see what these powers can really do for me." He says, slightly twitching from his spot on the exam table as his pupils turn blood red for a split second.

"I just have to get a second opinion on your latest tests, then we can go. Arty, I need to talk with you." Wally smiles reassuringly at Sam before pulling Artemis to the side so they can talk privately. He leans in and his smile quickly disappears. "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah, I heard the Zoom bit. Do you really think he's back? Do you something's going on with Sam?"

"Only one way to find out for sure, follow my lead." They both share a nod as they turn back towards Sam and the kids before rushing him, quickly picking Sam under his arms and slamming him hard on the exam table, knowing he can take it. "THAWNE! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SAM?!"

Sam laughs, his eyes turn red just as they did the first time and a sinister smile appears on his face as the voice of Eobard Thawne begins to speak through him. "You idiots finally figured it out. I gotta tell you, it wasn't easy to possess Sam. He fought my control through The Speed Force from the very moment he got his power, but I knew I could take him over to use him as a way out of this Speed Hell you and Barry put me in. So, I waited patiently till he got fast enough and it would seem that time is now!"

"Goodbye, I'll see if I can return his corpse to sister after I'm done with him." Sam quickly shoves them off, gets back in his wheelchair and pushes down the children for evil measure as he races out of the house at top speed.

Wally and Artemis catch their children before they can be hurt, they share a look as she comforts the children close to her chest. "Go get him, bring him back safely."

Lighting strikes in Wally's eyes and he instantly races out of the house after Sam as fast as he can, his sliver and red Flash costume forms around him as catches up to Sam in a second. "Let the boy go, Thawne. He's innocent and not fast enough for whatever you have planned!"

"I know, but that is what makes this all the more fun and I need to use him as lighting rod to help me get out of The Speed Force through time. Chase me!" Sam picks up the pace fast enough for the air around them to crackle with electricity and portal into time opens, he smirks as he goes through the portal to who knows where, but the portal closes before Wally can reach out and grab him or follow into time.

Wally yells in frustration, planting his feet and skidding to full stop, breathing heavily as he talks to Artemis on the other end of the suit's com link. "Sam got away when he went into time. He could be anywhere now."

"He time traveled!? I didn't think he could yet."

"Me neither. Thawne is using him for whatever he needs, even going so far as to make him fast enough to time travel before he's learned how. I need you to please call the Justice League, I think we're going time traveling."

* * *

It's been four months, four months of barely speaking combined with awkward tension between Connor and Rose. They share love for their daughter, but that's it, they no longer share love for each other or a bed or even kisses, and Olivia absolutely hates it. She hates it because it shouldn't be this way, it should be better. She knows they look at each other, she sees the occasional stolen glances of love and longing in the morning when Harper is passed between them for her wake up kisses.

She also sees a look between them of sad wonder as if they are looking in the other person's eyes and trying to decipher if the other person is going leave, but neither of them want to leave, the three of them just spend their nights sleeping against Rose's bedroom door. Rose sleeps in her bedroom with Harper while Connor and Olivia sleep on against the other side of the door because Olivia doesn't want her to leave no matter how many times Rose tells her she isn't going anywhere. So close, yet so far away, this is what needs to be done, and Olivia absolutely hates it.

She slowly opens her sleepily eyes from her usual spot against Rose's door to the blurry sight of her brother shuffling into the kitchen. Knowing this silence has gone on for far too long, she decides to break it in order to have her family back. "Connor?"

"Yep?" He turns back to her while rubbing the morning sand out of his eyes, and Olivia waves him back to sit with her.

Once he sits back down with her, she gently takes his hand and looks back with apologetic eyes. "I want to apologize for what I said to you that night a few months ago, it was way out of line and completely uncalled for. We were all just really tired and I didn't mean of it. I'm sorry."

Connor nods in acceptence of her apology, but the sad expression remains on his face. "You're right though. I say I'm going to fix things and yet, I end up making things worse then I never tried at all. That's what I do and sometimes I wonder if I should have ever come back home, this family is honestly better off without me."

"No, we both know that isn't true. Connor, you are my brother and we are family, just like Rose and I are, I will do anything in the world for my family. I know you always try to fix things when they're broken around here and I appreciate it, but what I meant that night was, you don't need do to it alone after everything this family has lost. Just know, you have your sweet baby sister and Rose to help you when it all gets too much."

"Thank you." He says softly, giving a genuine smile, the first smile Olivia has seen from him in months before standing to his feet once again and going off towards the kitchen. "Why don't you get some more sleep? I'm going make pancakes for breakfast and I'll come get you when they're ready."

She nods at his request and quickly drifts off again against the door. What they both don't know is, Rose was sitting on the other side and heard their entire conversation with tears streaming down her face as Harper rests on her chest. She looks into her daughter's blue eyes, the eyes she shares with Connor, and she can't help but want to be near him.

"Olivia... it's time to wake up, kid. Breakfast is ready."

Olivia wakes slowly an hour later to the sound of her name being said by Rose, she opens her eyes to the blurry to the sight of Rose's light green and kind smile as her vision comes into focus. She immediately wraps her arms around Rose tightly in a desperate hug. "You're here, I can't believe it. You've stayed!"

"Of course I stayed. I will never leave my family. I'm going to hand over Harper to Connor so he can give her some breakfast, let's get some food in you too." Rose doesn't separate from Olivia as she places a hand on her back to help her stand before they walk to the kitchen together. She sighs, seeing the dark circles under Olivia's eyes that come every morning after she sleeps against her door. "Y'know, I'm not going to leave, so I would much rather like it if you spend your nights sleeping in your own comfortable bed, please."

"I don't want you to be alone in your bedroom, that room has bad memoires for all of us. Connor managed to clean up, but we can still see the blood stain left behind. Besides, you used stay by my door at night and now I want to do that for you no mater how uncomfortable I am or how tired it makes me."

"I'm not alone in my room at night, I have my little daisy with me. Isn't that right?" Rose lifts up Harper and gives her kiss after kiss on the cheek until hearing a giggle of delight from her. Olivia can't but smile at the display of cuteness as she leans to gently caress the top of Harper's head before stepping away to take a seat at the table for breakfast.

"Food's up, smalls. I made your favorite, chocolate and peanut butter chip pancakes, the sugar will help you wake up." Connor serves food on a plate and slides it on the table to Olivia along with the syrup. He grabs a second plate before serving pancakes from a different, smaller stack and holding the plate to Rose with a kind smile. "I made blueberry ones for you, I know you like 'em."

"Thank you, it's only fair I give someone in return. Be careful, she's very precious cargo." She says softly, giving the same kind smile as she hands over Harper and takes the plate in return before sitting next to Olivia at the table.

Rose watches in amazement as Olivia continues to scarf down her food with half of it already gone, Olivia gives a confused look when finally coming up for air. "I'm sorry, I just like when Connor makes pancakes. If Queen Industries doesn't work out, maybe you open a food truck and sell these."

Connor chuckles, giving a kiss to Harper's head before setting her in the highchair and beginning to feed her. "Thanks for the vote of confidence there, sis. I think your aunt values my newly found culinary skills over my business skills, but we'll show her because life is about learning and changing into a better person than you were yesterday." He says while guiding a spoonful of food into her mouth very carefully so she doesn't spit it back at him.

Rose watches Connor with Harper warmly, he's really come into his own with their daughter, feeding her, clothing her, keeping her happy and comfortable all on his own. It's almost like he doesn't need her anymore, but she knows that isn't true because Connor said it himself: they need each other, and she needs to be with him to end the pain of loneliness they're both feeling. She places a friendly hand on his shoulder and speaks softly. "Hey, do you need any help with Harper?"

"No, thank you. I've got this. But Olivia..." He shakes his head without looking at her, instead still focusing on feeding his daughter before his focus shifts to Olivia. Both of them notice how tired she still seems to be, the sugary pancakes can only help so much. "We can pump ten cups of coffee into her then send her to school or we can call her out for the day, what do you want to do?"

"I'll call her out today, then we all can get lunch later if you're not busy." Rose tries not to laugh at sight Olivia about to fall asleep in her plate of syrup, she loudly slams her hand on the counter to wake her. "Kid! I'm taking you out of school today, put your plate in the sink and take a nap in bed, your own bed! Understand?"

Olivia nods with a yawn, standing with her plate and placing it into the sink before running to hug Rose. "Thank you, you are a godsend. I heard you guys talking about getting lunch later and now that I'm fifteen, I need some hours on my learners permit before my driving test on my sixteenth birthday. So maybe after my nap, you and I can take grandpa's mustang out to pick up Connor and hair dye for my date with Carrie next week."

"Wait, hair dye? Are you sure, kid?"

She nods excitedly at Rose. "Yep. I mean, the color you've got works well on you and I want to make a good impression."

"She's right. You always look amazing with your steel gray hair, it really brings out your green eyes." Connor compliments nonchalantly while slipping coffee.

Rose blushes at his compliment, hugging Olivia tighter. "Alright, we'll go to the store and get you a few options, then I'll teach you how to apply it." She watches her leave for her room before turning to Connor. "You never told me, are you free for lunch?"

"Fraid not. I have another day of tightly scheduled meetings with Veronica, we're discussing the final stages of the Queen/Lodge merger She's agreed not to downsize the company and become more of a silent partner while helping me learn the ropes of busine..." Connor trails off, seeing the look of sadness on Rose's face when mentioning Veronica. "I can cancel one meeting and make time for lunch around noon, I'll always have time for you, Rose."

"If you're going driving with Olivia today, I have something for you. Hold on." Connor sets his cup down before standing up and going into his room for a minute, leaving Rose to feed Harper in his place. He returns quickly with a set of keys in his hand, presenting the keys to her with a smile. Rose is scared by the keys, could this Connor's way of kicking her out of the house and only giving her a key to come back and visit Harper, she doesn't want to loose him or the rest of her family.

She is taken out of her thoughts when he places a hand on her shoulder gently. "Hey, they're keys to Grandpa's Ted mustang, you kind of need them to make the car go. Please be careful, I just put her back together piece by piece to be good as new after the mansion fire and maybe say your prayers, I've seen Olivia play Mario Kart so I don't envy you. Good luck, Ms. Wilson."

Rose doesn't expect much from Connor before going off to work, but what she gets in reality is worse. He just kisses the top of Harper's head, grabs his suit jacket and briefcase before going downstairs out the front door without so much as a goodbye towards her, leaving Rose devastated and alone.

* * *

"Shift! Shift! For God's sake, use the gear shift!" Rose shouts desperately as she jerks up in the passenger seat, wishing she took Connor's advice and prayed when entering the car. The car jerks to a final stop and she pinches her nose in exhaustion, breathing deeply while looking at Olivia. "We went over this, do you remember how to shift into different gears properly?"

"Yes, I do and you're just being dramatic. On the bright side, we made it to Queen Industries in one piece. So, yay! There's that... How'd I do?" She asks with a innocent smile, hoping she wasn't too bad.

Rose takes another deep breath to calm down, leaning over and sharply removing the keys from the ignition. "I have no words, Olivia. Until I find them, I am taking the keys so you don't hurt yourself or Harper while I'm inside getting Connor for lunch. Just listen to radio, but nothing explicit, I don't want my daughter's first word to be a curse word. Oh, she's in charge till I get back and, I'll be driving from now on." She quickly gets out of the car and loudly shuts the door behind her before Olivia has a chance to argue.

As she walks into the building, Rose can't help but be impressed at how fast Queen Industries was rebuilt in just four months since her father's attack, Veronica really did well with the remodel, new and modern architecture mixed with the old and sturdy building frame left behind. She would almost like it if it didn't involve Connor and Veronica spending so much time together, she doesn't know why she's worried, Connor would never cheat on her, at least it's what sheused to believe when they had feelings for each other. Now she only knows she's hurting when they're not together and Connor is hurting too.

She goes up to a young woman with dyed purple hair and olive skin sitting at desk near Connor's office with a polite smile. "Hey, I'm Rose Wilson, I'm here to see my boyfriend Connor Queen. He should be expecting me."

"Yes, he is. Mr. Queen's meeting with Ms. Lodge is running longer then expected, but he said you're welcome to wait inside his office."

Rose tries not to let the mention of Veronica with Connor hurt her that much as she begins the walk down the long hall towards Connor's office. When she arrives at the end of the hall, Rose's hand reaches to pull the door of Connor's office, but she stops herself when overhearing a conversation between Connor and Veronica that causes fear to run down her spine and rage to rise in her chest.

"You could've shaved or chose a better tie, Connor. I mean, this is a big day for both of us, our first billion dollars made without the help of our parents. That's cause to celebrate, I plan on taking Sam out for dinner and ice cream while I'm in town. Although, I haven't received a call from him today and I'm starting to get worried."

Connor sighs deeply as he carefully reads the last page of the contract drawn up between himself and Veronica before giving his last signature to the page and plopping down in his chair, looking at Veronica with exasperation. "I'm really not in the mood for you to criticize my ducky tie or my full beard, it's a depression beard because I'm having problems with my girlfriend. Problems that are too late for either of us to fix."

"You don't really believe that, do you?" She asks sympathetically as a friend, dropping her uptight business persona. Connor just sighs again and Veronica scoffs. "Alright, look. I don't know your girlfriend as well as I know you, but from what I remember about her on that day she consoled me while you rescued Sam, she is kind of nice and you guys work well together. I'm assuming it's because you have history together."

"Its not just our history, Veronica. It's also the fucked up history between our parents, history that's not our own, but is thrust upon us nonetheless."

"I don't think history matters anymore, Connor. What matters is the future you see with her, and you better figure that out because I read your schedule today and know she probably here to get pick you up for lunch. Goodbye, Mr. Queen." Veronica extends a hand for Connor to shake and Rose takes it as a cue to enter the room, leaning against the wall and waiting for their business to be done.

"Goodbye, Ms. Lodge. Thank you for saving my legacy." They share a nod as she takes the contract to be finalized and leaves the room, receiving a passive aggressive glare from Rose when they pass. Connor leans against the front of his desk while putting on his jacket over his suit vest with a smile. "So, you ready for lunch, Rose?"

"You say goodbye to her, but why didn't you say goodbye to me when leaving for work today?" She asks bluntly, getting straight to the point despite her hurt feelings.

Connor's smile drops when realizing what he did. "I'm sorry, I forgot. But would that have changed the relationship between us? I mean, we haven't talked in months, so I don't see how saying goodbye is suddenly going to start a conversation again. Honestly, I should have said goodbye a long time ago when I saw that whatever this is between us isn't working anymore."

"What are saying, asshole?" Rose clenches her fist beside her to resist the urge to slap him as she fights back tears.

"What do you want me to say, Rose? I've tried saying sorry, but you won't hear it, do you want me to say it again because I am so sorry. I'm sorry I kept the truth from you for so long because I didn't want to lose my only friend. I'm sorry my family hurt you in such a painful way. I'm sorry my father killed your brother, but I am not my father. You know me, I never, ever wanted to hurt you and I'm starting to think the best way to solve this is for you to stay away from me."

"I said it when I came back, I'm no good for you, Rose. I'm poison, and you've certainly got things handled here with the kids. You don't need me, you never have, so maybe it would be best for everyone if I just left again." He says with a tone that tells it's hurting him to say the words as much as it hurts Rose to hear them.

"Fuck you. So many people have left me and being with you, Olivia, and Harper has made me believe it's not my fault when they leave me, I won't let you leave me too. We are going to lunch like a normal family even if I have to drag your ass to the car all by myself. Now mount up, the kids are waiting... Please."

She expects that to be that, she expects him to give up and follow her, but he just sits back down in his desk chair without a word. "Sorry, Rose. I can't go to lunch, I got work to do."

"No, you're fucking not." She leaves the room in tears, shutting the door behind her with a hard slam.

Connor knows she's still in on the other side, but doesn't care when he strikes the wooden desk over and over in anger at himself and what he said until his fists are full of blood and splinters. "I'm sorry, Rose..."

"Coffee for you and it looks like you need one after what just happened there. I'm sorry by the way." Connor doesn't get to finish his sentence when the purple haired woman from earlier enters the room and lays a cup of coffee on what remains on of the desk.

"Thank you for the coffee and the kind words." Connor brings the cup to his lips and drinks, but spits it out in disgust of its strange off putting taste. "that's some coffee, what you'd put in it?"

Connor quickly extends his bow from the briefcase and aims an arrow at the mystery woman, but she remains calm and concerned toward him. "Oh, I drugged it so you would sleep, I thought it would be easier for what comes next. We need you for a mission."

"Nightly night, sleep tight." She says calmly as Connor enters a dopey state before hoisting him over her shoulder with ease and going out the room past Rose. "This is Aquawoman, I have Connor and now I-" She's cut off when suddenly being tackled by Rose on the way to the elevator.

"GIVE ME BACK MY CONNOR!!!" She screams, quickly standing and taking Connor's hand and leading him back toward the office as a dopey look forms on his face. Once they reach the back window of the office, they look at Aquawoman still walking toward them. "Shit, I didn't think this through."

"When do we ever." Connor says, smiling because they're finally working together again. He shatters the window using his sonic abilities and loads a grapple arrow to get safely to the ground, but before it can be fired properly, Aquawoman accidently shoulder checks them out the window when trying to get them to calm down.

Rose tucks herself into Connor as he fires the arrow again into the side of the building on the way to the ground to slow their decent. Luckily the grapple rope stops mere meters from the ground and Connor's shoulder dislocates by the sudden jerking stop. A pained look appears on his as he checks on her with soft eyes. "Hey, hey, are you okay? Please tell me you're okay?"

"I'm fine, but your shoulder is dislocated. Here, let me help pop back in." She tries to grab his arm, but he moves away from her. Instead, he pops his shoulder back in by slamming his arm against a nearby concrete wall and grunting through the pain. "Or you can do the Lethal Weapon 2 thing, that works too."

Connor collapses his bow and arrows to fit in his pocket as they walk to the car together. "I'm sorry, is it too late for lunch with you? Tacos sound awesome right now."

"Nope, and I'm glad to get away with you. You said tacos, right?"

"Hold up, kids. I need him for something more important than lunch, he'll be returned safe and sound once we go time traveling. We'll even get tacos on the way home." Aquawoman jumps down from the building and runs to them, scooping Connor in her arms bridal style before taking spacious leaps down the street "I have Connor again and I'm on route to the rendezvous point."

Rose races toward the car as fast as her feet will carry her, watching Olivia hum and dance to the song on the radio with Harper trying to do the same in the back and they seem completely unaware of what just happened across the street as she enters the passenger side and tosses the keys back at Olivia. "What are you doing? Didn't you see how Connor was taken by someone with purple hair and we need to get him back. There's no time to switch, so breathe easy and remember the shift points."

"Okay, today seems like a car chase kind of day." Olivia puts the keys in the ignition and starts the car, but doesn't pull into traffic, and Rose looks at her in confusion as to why they aren't going yet. "Put your seatbelt on, you're supposed to a role model for Harper. You never know when she watching."

They both look back to see Harper absent mindedly drooling in her car seat without a care in the world and Rose sighs in frustration. "What do you think she could possibly learn in this situation, the fundamentals of a car chase?" She asks, expecting Olivia to give up, but she remains unmovable until Rose locks the belt into place over her chest. "You win, can we go now?"

Olivia chuckles, finally joining the chase. "Sometimes I wonder who is the true adult in our relationship."

"Just drive."

You're doing great, kid." Rose opens the mustang's glove box in hopes to find something that will free Connor and to her surprise, she finds an old loaded pistol. "Turn the radio up loud, I don't want Harper to hear the shots." Olivia turns up the radio as Rose leans out the window and fires the gun at Aquawoman with great accuracy even though she's leaping high in the air.

The bullets are a mere annoyance to her, she either dodges them or they bounce off her tough skin that comes with her Atlantean physiology, but they cause her to talk to her com link. "Oracle, I'm hearing the Pina Colada Song and Rose is shooting at me."

"Keep going. Bring him through the Watchtower portal and she will follow, we may need her too."

"Got it. On route to the League now." She comes up to an abandoned shipping yard and walks through a teleportation portal that brings them onto the Watchtower. She gently sets Connor down and makes sure he's okay as a group of people step out of the shadows. "Sorry about the rough ride, but there's people I would like you to meet. We need your help, please."

Connor watches in awe as the heroes of the Justice League stand before him, recognizing the woman from earlier to be Lorena Prince as Aquawoman, then Dick Grayson as Nightwing, Wally West as Flash, Hunter Prince as Atlas, Kara Gordon as Superwoman, Lena Luthor as Green Lantern. Lastly, Diana Prince as Wonder Woman kneels to offer him a hand up. "Welcome to the Justice League, Mr. Queen."

* * *

"You could've have called, Wally. I would've understood that you needed help rescuing Sam, you didn't need to kidnap me. Just tell me what's the mission?" Connor says with an annoyed tone, sitting the League infirmary as Hunter wraps his bloody hands in bandages.

Diana enters the room, leaning against the door frame with a apologetic concerned look. "Forgive us, Connor. As team leader, Wally was acting on my orders, I didn't know how you would react to being into a mission, considering how your parents acted on the team. They mainly worked on ground level crime and only worked with us begrudgingly when the world was ending."

Connor yanks his hands away seconds after they're bandaged and gets right up in her face. Hunter stands to protect his mother, but she gives him a look to back down, hearing what he has to say. "That's what my family does, we protect the little guy who can't protect themselves, something you heroes have forgotten. I am not my parents, I'm not my father, I will be there when you need me. Unlike the rest of the League was for my family."

"Do you know what happened to my father after the night Roy was kicked out, I witnessed first hand as he nearly drink himself to death over and over because of the guilt of what happened to Grant and Roy, and he would've if my mother hadn't kicked his ass into recovery to be better for my sister and I.  And what did the League do to help? Nothing except sit up here and move on with your own lives without a care for us on the ground!" He storms out, walking past Rose and Olivia listening closely from the hall.

After Connor leaves, Diana breathes in heavy his words and shares a look with Hunter that says the League needs to make some serious changes as Olivia enters from the hall. Diana looks at her and speaks with a tone of regretful sadness. "What Connor said about Oliver, is it true?"

Olivia closes her eyes for a second, trying not to remember vivid nightly memories of herself as a baby huddled together with a young Connor in his bedroom with the TV on loud in order to unsuccessfully drown out the hurtful sounds of their parents fighting in the bathroom after Oliver threw up in the toilet from drinking way too much to handle his guilt. "Every word."  

Her eyes light up when seeing Wally standing off to the side and she immediately runs into his arms to hug him like she hasn't seen him in years. "Uncle Wally, it's so good to see you! How's Aunt Arty?"

Wally lifts her up in a tight hug, taking a moment before setting her down and noticing how much she's grown. "Artemis is doing well with the kids, and look at you. You're tall now! Well, tallish." He jokes as Olivia playfully hits his arm harder than expected. "Ow, who's been teaching you how to hit?"

"Rose Wilson. I only learn from the best!" She says proudly, and Rose smiles at the compliment as she rocks Harper to sleep in the hall.

The mention of the Wilson name causes Hunter and Wally's eyes to widen in nervous shame, they both share a look of agreement and leave the room before bad memories return. Rose slowly walks into the room, the three them stare away from each other in a uncomfortable sympathy until she walks up to Diana. "What the hell are we doing here, Wonder Lady? It makes me uncomfortable to be around people I don't know or trust."

Diana tries to put a hand on Rose's shoulder, but she steps back until Olivia reaches out and takes her hand to make her comfortable again. "I'm sorry, miss Wilson. I will try not to keep and Connor longer then needed, but we also need you two for a time travel mission to save Sam Lodge. Are you ready?"

"Hell yeah." She turns back to Olivia and they share a smile of pure excitement for what's about to happen. "Looks like all those Doctor Who episodes we watched together are finally paying off!"

Connor walks around the Watchtower until the color red catches his eye, a color he recognizes anywhere because it's the long, lushes red hair belonging to Barbara Gordon. He takes a small step to her, wanting to hug deeply the woman that was a life long friend to his mother and a second aunt to him as she sits alone in her wheelchair furiously typing at her computer with a vengeance. A smile forms on her face when spotting him standing in the hall behind her through the reflection in her monitor. "William Connor Queen! You better get your ass in here and give me a big hug!"

Connor enters the room as she turns her chair around and they smile at each other while he kneels to look her in eyes. "I'm sorry for bothering you, this looks important."

"Not as important as an old friend, Now stand up and give me a hug!" She orders, trying to force Connor to stand up straight, but he stays at eye level.

"I'll hug you, but I won't look down on you. No one should ever do that." They embrace each other deeply and Connor fights back tears at finally being so close to someone that reminds him of his mother. "I missed you, Babs. So much!"

When they separate, Barbara looks at him proudly like his mother used to as she touches the beard on his cheek. "Look at you, so grown up and working with the League, your parents would be so proud. I hope my little sister and rest of the League didn't give you too much trouble, if they did and if a smaller team is more your style, we could always use you on the Birds of Prey. Just change your code name and paint your armor black."

"I'll keep that in mind." Connor notices the historical documents scattered on her computer screens as she returns her focus. "What are you working on?"

"I'm working with Carter and Kendra, going through historical documents looking for possible times periods to Thawne dragged Sam to, you'd probably be bored if you had to do this all day."

Connor shakes his head, grabbing another chair and sitting next to Barbara at the computer. "Untrue, I could always get out of training with my parents when it was too intense by saying that I was working with Aunt Barbara, it's interesting to me."

She smiles at the compliment, but her eyes don't leave the screen. "In that case, I think Sam is fighting Thawne's control on him by leaving clues and coordinates as to where he is in time and since you're here, I'll let you choose first where you want to go to pick up your clue. 1938, Smallville. 1945, London. Or 1968, Riverdale. Which one do you and Rose want?" He gives a shocked confused expression, how did she know about his girlfriend. "I've got hidden cameras all over the Watchtower. They don't call me Oracle for nothing."

* * *

Diana breathes deeply, preparing to address a group of people she brought together to save Sam. She walks into the center of the room Rip Hunter stands behind her. "Hello, everyone. We're all here to rescue Sam from the time stream, so lets do this, team #1 of Kara and Lena is going to Smallville in 1938. Team #2 of my son and Lorena is going to London in 1945. Team #3 of Rose and Connor is going to Riverdale in 1968. Questions?"

Rose slowly raises her hand, still skeptical of this whole situation. "If we're going time traveling, wouldn't our presence in the past, where we could meet people close to us, change things in the future? What if I step on a butterfly or something?"

Rip steps forward to answer. "What do you have against butterflies, miss Wilson? Listen, everyone. You can interact with anyone in the past within reason, don't start or interfere with any wars or historic events. I know this a long shot since of you are born yet, but don't interact with your younger self, that's a whole mess I don't have time to explain. If you happen to meet a member of your family in the past, don't tell them about the future, especially events in their own future. If there's one piece of advice I can give to remember while you're in the past, just find your clue and leave without causing any trouble." 

"I will be dropping teams off in their time periods with my ship The Waverider. Use the com link in your pocket to let me know when to pick you up after your mission." Rip presses a remote to deactivate the invisible camouflage to reveal his huge futuristic time ship that was hidden behind them in plan sight to everyone's awe, except Rose who quickly regains her stoicism.

"It's cool, but I was hoping for more. Maybe a blue, smaller on the outside and bigger on the inside." Her comment causes Olivia to snicker in the crowd.

"Well, some time travelers aren't lucky enough to have a Tardis." He quips back as Diana steps forward again.

"If there's no more comments or questions, I'll give the teams five minutes to say goodbye to their loved ones before boarding the ship. Dismissed."

Rose smiles and kisses Harper's head as her family approaches her, she gives Connor a nod because they've both come to terms with time traveling, but she still looks at Olivia with concern at leaving the kids behind. "Are you kids gonna be okay here on the Watchtower or do you want me to take home instead?"

Olivia quickly shakes her head and a bright smile forms. "And miss out on time traveling? No, I won't take that from you and if you don't go, I will. Besides, there's no safer place for Harper and I then on the Watchtower among the heroes that looked after me when my parents were away on mission. Barbara and Diana are my favorite, so I'll stick close to them."

"Really? Diana with her resting warrior face doesn't strike me as the motherly type."

To elevate Rose's worry, Connor points at Hunter and Lorena. "Do you see those two talking to her?"

"You mean, the dude with an awesome beard that puts yours to shame and the woman with purple hair that rivals my color? Honestly, I'm kinda jealous of her."

"Yes, well, I may have my disagreements with the woman, but Hunter is Diana's son that she raised from birth and Lorena is his wife. Together they're the Queen and King of Atlantis, Artemis told me they're best monarch Atlantis has had in a long time. If she can raise her son well enough to be King then I trust her to care for the kids while we're away."

Rose sighs sadly, bringing Olivia into a deep hug before kissing Harper a final time and handing her off. "Take care of yourself, kid and my little daisy. I can tell she wants say her first word soon, so watch her closely and record everything she does in case of something important, I don't want to miss anything she does."

"Nor I, I'll bring back souvenirs for you both, smalls." Connor takes Olivia in loving hug as he wants to protect like any sibling would, but knowing the people he always called his extended family will care for her as their own.

Olivia smiles at Harper snuggled in her arms and knowing she will miss her parents when they go traveling, she holds her hand to encourage her to say goodbye. "Harper, can you say goodbye to your mama and papa? Say bye, bye." She tries to get Harper speak so they can have a happy memory before going off, but her eyes slowly close and falls into a nap. "Happy travels. What could go wrong?"

* * *

One hour later.

Rose slowly wakes up alone in some mid-west American corn field with one thought in head above all. 'This is the first and last time I get talked into going time traveling.' She sits up and rubs her head, feeling a big headache coming on due to her entrance into 1968. Her landing didn't go as planned and now she's separated from Connor and the Waverider when she was thrown from the ship by the turbulence of entering the turbulence of entering the time period so suddenly while she was trying to close the ship's main door. The last thing she remembers before falling is Connor screaming her name desperately as he reached out to catch her.

She takes her phone out of her jeans, giving a frustrated yells at the inability to get a signal, then she remembers it's 1968 and she definitely won't get a cell signal anywhere. Rose grabs the com link in her pocket, but that doesn't yield positive results either when seeing it smashed to smithereens with no hope of repair. "This is just great." She says sarcastically, finding herself up shit creek without a paddle.

Rose hopes she doesn't draw attention to herself for being the strange girl walking from a lone field in the middle of nowhere, her only comfort is the pistol still hidden in the back of her pants as she holds her thumb out and begins walking along an empty road to find help in a unfamiliar time. She doesn't know in what direction the closet town is or if she's making any progress towards it, all she knows is that her legs feel on fire by time she walks her seventh mile, but she doesn't quit because that isn't what she was taught, at least it give her a chance to work on cardio.

"Damn you, Slade." She says in exhaustion, wanting to take a rest at least for a little bit, but knowing her father would beat her like so many times before if she even tired. So she continues, wiping away the sweat from her forehead with her t-shirt and wrapping Connor's green army jacket around her head to keep cool as she laughs at a passing billboard for the upcoming Presidential Election, confirming that she's in the right time period and place.

**Hey, cool cats of Riverdale! Vote Richard Nixon in Nov 68! Nixon's The One!**

"Huh, 'Nixon's The One.' If they only knew." Rose chuckles for herself before hearing the low rumbling sound of a car engine. She turns around to see a 1965 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 coming up the road next to her, which she recognizes as the same exact car she drove this morning with Olivia,  Connor's mustang and the same car that she has keys to in her pocket. She willing stands in the middle of the road as if she was daring Connor to run her over, but knowing he won't 

The driver slams on the brakes mere meters from Rose, they stare each down in shock at what did and she expects to see Connor behind the wheel, but finds a young man that looks strikingly similar to Connor, maybe a year or two younger, but showing brown hair and green eyes as he gets out of the car to scream at her for stupidity. "WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM, LADY? I ALMOST HIT YOU! I fucking saw you on the side of the road and I was going to stop for you! You didn't need to do that!"

Shock remains on her face as she tries to speak to the stranger. "I'm so sorry about that. Full disclosure, I'm lost, tired and I thought you were my boyfriend coming to find me. I mean, we got separated and you kind of look like him. Again, I'm sorry."

The driver sighs as he gets back in the car and leans over to open the passenger door for Rose. "Alright look, I have to meet my girlfriend at a diner in town today, I can give you a ride there and then you can get help finding your boyfriend or whoever you're looking for. Please hurry up and decide, I'm a on a clock. Wait, are you a space alien trying to contact your home planet by the jacket on your head?"

"What? No. I didn't realize I still had that on." Rose takes her jacket and tosses it in the backseat before stepping inside and greeting the young man as he drives off toward town. "Sorry of acting so strange. My name's Rose Wilson."

"Nice to meet you, Rose. My name's Ted Grant."

"Oh, fuck!" She whispers under her breath as a strange, sudden sense of Deja Vu hits her like the car she's riding in with a younger version of Connor's grandfather's. The car is bright and shiny, the red paint on the outside is new and clean, the radio is more with the times instead of the modern one Connor replaced when he inherited from his parents. She looks over at the keys in the ignition and notices a black guitar pick with the word 'My Canary' printed in gold font as the same guitar pick she has on her own set of keys.

Rose is taken out of her quiet thoughts when Ted tunes the radio to House Of The Rising Sun, much to his surprise and concern. "You alright, Rose? You look like you saw a ghost."

Rose doesn't know why she's freaking out so much, she has never met Ted before, only seen him in old family photos that Olivia has shown her. Now she is seeing him up close and she can't help but see all the similarities between Connor and Ted, same muscular build, same perfect hair, same bandaged warped hands, same boyish smile that she loves about Connor so much. "I'm fine, Co- I mean, Ted. That's your name, Ted."

"Alright... Do you mind if I smoke?" Ted keeps his eyes road as he brings a pack of cigarettes up to his mouth to take one with his teeth and lights it with his flip lighter. The nicotine smell in the air is enough for Rose to start craving one herself and have a hard time remembering why she quit in the first place, which cause her to angrily take the cigarette from his mouth and toss it out the window, then doing the same thing to whole pack before she can act on them. "Hey, what the hell?"

"You shouldn't smoke, it's bad for you. Now slow down and focus more on the road so we don't crash due to your carelessness."

"Fine, you sound like the mother I never knew."

"Sorry to hear that. I'm a mother, just not your mother. I'm not comfortable with cigarettes anymore, I had to quit smoking cold turkey when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter and haven't had one since. I'm trying to be a good role model for her."

"I get trying to be better for the people you care about, I'm trying to be better for my girlfriend because she deserves better. But it doesn't always work out because of my quick temper." He says, hiding the rage in his voice well before changing the subject. "So, this kid of yours, is the father the same guy you think I am? The same guy you would stand in the middle of road for?"

"Yes. There's always been this sexual tension between us and we were always doing stupid shit to impress each other before we got together. Those days seem so long ago and now we've made mistakes that we aren't working together to try and fix, I  can tell we both want to, but neither of us are willing to make the first move. I just want to be close to him again, I just want to fight with him again."

"Maybe you should tell him that. I've been fighting my whole life, I'll keep fighting till the very day I die and I'm okay with that because I fight people I love. My fighting has even gotten me in trouble and now I have to run away to start life, I just hope my girlfriend will come to see me off at the military recruitment office in Coast City."

"What are you running from?" 

Ted breathes deeply, clutching the steering wheel tightly until his knuckles turn white. "My past. I was expelled from my prep high school in Gotham yesterday because I picked a fight with the wrong entitled rich prick, a fight I shouldn't have won and now the boy's parents are pressing assault charges. I was kicked out of the house by my father as he told me that the only way to avoid jail time was to join the Vietnam War. It's not what I want, but it's not about me, it's about her. When we reach Coast City, I'm going to give my car and all the cash I managed to gather up before wishing her well in life because I'm no good for her, I'm poison."

"I'm sick of hearing that today, my boyfriend already believes that when he's not and I won't hear it from you. The truth is, people like us enjoy pain because we think we deserve it, but we don't because we're good people who deserve happiness. I'm a good person, Connor's a good person, you're a good person. We're all good people, danmit! Listen, there's nothing wrong with going out and doing what you need to do in the world, but there's also nothing wrong with living a life of peace. So, after you're done fighting and come back here after your war, just meet your girlfriend again and be happy. We all deserve to be happy."

Ted is shocked that her powerful words also comes from someone so young. "Don't take offense when I say this, but you scare me and I'm also glad I almost hit you with my car."

Just ten miles down the road, Rip argues with Connor as the invisible Waverider lands in an empty back parking lot of Pop's Diner in Riverdale. He raises his hands, trying to defuse the situation with Connor, and he has an arrow aimed at his head. "Mr. Queen, please put the bow down. We're here at the diner where Sam wrote the last clue. I need you-"

"I don't care what you need right now!" Connor growls and doesn't lower his bow. "I need Rose with me, I won't do this without her! So, you're going to turn this damn ship around and we're going to look for her till we find her, then I'll find your clue here!"

Rip presses a button on a nearby console that automatically opens the main door for Connor to step out. "I can't do that right now. I need you to go in there and find Sam's clue, so we can bring him home because Wally told me about the kind of protective sister Veronica is and right now, she scares me slightly more than you. I swear to you, we will not leave this time period without Rose."

Connor collapses bow down to fit inside his jeans, letting loose the arrow to fire near Rip's leg as leaves the Waverider wearing a black t-shirt, blue jeans and red converse shoes to better blend in with the time. "When I get back, we're going to find Rose, or my next arrow won't be so generous!"

Rip looks at the arrow fired into the ship in shock, then Connor in anger. "Stop blowing up my ship! You gonna hit something important!" 

When Connor enters the diner, he's instantly greeted by a friendly and frazzled waitress around his age, if not a few years younger with blonde hair, blue eyes, and her arms full of plated food. "Hey, hon. Take a seat in the booth there and I'll be with you in a second." She says, huffing in exhaustion.

"No worries, take your time. Do you need any help?" Connor rushes to her aid and kneels down to perfectly catch a plate falling from her arms. He smiles at the girl as he hands over the plate, but the name he reads on her tag causes him to nearly drop it again. "Here you go... Dinah?"

"Thanks, hon." Dinah says nonchalantly with a warm, kind smile as he walks back to the booth, a smile Connor saw on his mother many times before, but could this woman be his mother? The same woman who sang covers of rock songs to him and Olivia every night before they went to sleep as little children? No, this doesn't make any sense, his mother isn't born for another eleven years. This woman has to be his grandmother, a woman he's never met because his grandparents didn't approve of her relationship with Oliver. He takes a calming breath as she comes near, wanting to know her even if she doesn't know him.

"Alright, what can I get ya?" She asks, tapping her pen on the notepad in her hand.

"Coffee with two sugars and cream, please." He answers suddenly, getting a quick glance at her before his eyes stare at the table in disbelief at much she looks like her daughter, and him. Same loving blue eyes as his mother that reassure him that you don't have to face the world alone, even though he only just met her, Connor knows she will be there in support and to kick the ass of whoever dare hurt you.

She repeats his order to herself in whisper as she writes it down before looking at him and noticing his jerking movements with great concern. "Hey, are you alright? You seem tired."

"Yeah, I'm good." Connor rubs his eyes tiredly, unconvinced by his claim. "Actually, I've had a long day of just being kicked around on top of a long night of very little sleep against my girlfriend's bedroom door because I want to be close to her. So, I'm kinda tired, but you probably don't have time to care."

"Tell me about it, my boss has been on my case all day." Dinah glances around the diner to make sure no one is watching before sitting in the booth across from him. "This is my third consecutive six hour shift, as you can probably tell by my perfect hair." She says sarcastically, blowing a loose strand of messy hair out of her face. "Most of customers I have are assholes trying to get lucky, but I know how to handle myself well. A very small amount are sweeties like you and this boy in a wheelchair I saw yesterday."

Connor's eyes go wide at the mention of Sam, he made it 1968 safely, now Connor needs to know if he made it out the same. "That's actually who I'm looking for. When he was in the diner yesterday, did you get his name, how did he seem?"

 "I didn't get a name, but he seemed out of sorts, almost like he had two minds in his head. He told me to go away when I tried getting his order as he wrote pages of math equations I've never seen before, he didn't take them with him when leaving here like a bat out of hell. I'm so swamped with customers that I haven't had a chance to throw them out, they're next to my guitar in the back."

"Can I have the notes? I need to know if he's okay and where he's going next, then I can find my girlfriend after we were separated on the way here." Dinah is about refuse, giving a look saying she needs to get back to work, causing Connor to come up with a solution. "You deserve a much needed break, so why don't you take one after getting the pages for me? I can take care of your tables for you while you're resting. Please, if I do this, then I can find Rose. I love her and need her a lot more than she needs me."

"You sound like my boyfriend, and kind of look like him, too."

"I've just got one of those faces, I wouldn't read too much into it." Connor says quickly with a boyish, convincing smile while hoping she won't connect the two of them together as family.

Dinah sighs, looking at the large tray of food she has to deliver to hungry customers before her eyes glance at Connor's bloody bandaged hands. You don't look like you've had any serving experience, you look more like a fighter. Are you sure you can do this?"

"What's there to learn? Don't drop the food and service with a smile, my mama taught me well. Now can you please crank up the jukebox? I like to have tunes while working." Connor leaves the booth, grabbing the tray of food and holding it with one hand as The Beatles cover of Twist And Shout begins to play through the diner after Dinah put it on as she goes to get the notes.

When Dinah comes back, she smiles in surprise as she watches Connor serve food to the beat of the song, dancing and twirling while he sets down a plate of chocolate chip pancakes for a little girl and pours coffee for the parents with a youthful sprit that wasn't present in him before. The smile on both of their faces don't disappear until the last of customers leave after the lunch rush is over and they are the only two people in the dinning area of the restaurant.

"Your dance moves are impressive, mr... You know, I don't actually know your name." Dinah says to Connor as he switches songs on the jukebox and sits back down across from her at the table.

"My given name is William, but I go by my middle name Connor."

"Well, I just go by Dinah Drake and wanted to you you were a natural out there with the customers, especially with the little kids."

"Kids are kinda easy when you have one. I have a ten month old daughter with my girlfriend, she's at home being looked after by my sister while we're on this trip to find my friend, but I don't care my mission right now, I only care about Rose and telling her how much of an idiot I am for everything I have done. That seems like a long shot since I don't even know where she is or if she's okay. God, I don't care what happens to me, I just want her to be okay."

"You really do love Rose, huh? Then you really do remind me of my boyfriend, he's always trying to atone for his past. We were insuperable since the day we met and everyday after, much to my father's dismay, but he can drink himself straight to hell for all I care. Sometimes I look into my father's eyes and see my future if I stay here , that's why I'm my working my ass off here instead of going home to that evil place to save money so I can run away to Coast City and begin a new life together as a singer. He called last night and told me to pack my bags, so here's hoping I can finally runaway from this place."

"I almost ran away with my girlfriend and I often wonder if everything would've been better for us if that night had ended differently. I wish the best for you in life, miss. Lan- Drake."

"Thank you, and maybe we can give you a ride to help find Rose on our out of town. Here he is now." She says, giving Connor's hand a friendly squeeze and watching as Ted's mustang pulls into the parking lot, much to Connor's surprise because could've sworn Rose left his car in the future. Now he can hope she is behind the wheel.

From the car, Rose breaths a sigh of relief as she sees Connor sitting at booth near the window of the diner, her relief is switched with rage when spotting his hands loving being held by a young woman he's with. Her rage is completely unmatched when compared to Ted's rage, who rips the keys from the ignition and doesn't even for Rose as he matches into the diner to confront them.

Luckily, she enters the diner first and Ted is her heels from behind. Connor stands and sprints toward her as she marches toward him ready to a confrontation about this situation, but all the problems between them no longer matter when he scoops her in a deep, loving hug that mere lasts seconds until Ted steps in between them and punches Connor's jaw hard enough to knock him out to the floor with one hit.

"Stay away from my girlfriend, asshole!"

* * *

Connor slowly comes to and the first person he sees is Rose, seeming like an beautiful angel high above, looking down at him with deep loving concern. She smiles as she continues to gently caress his head in her lap. "Hey, tough guy. How you doing?"

"Yo-you're here? You're real?" He ask, reaching up and loosely touching her cheek to make she isn't a vision.

"I'm really here." She confirms warmly with another smile, holding his hand on her cheek. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine." Connor sucks in a sharp, painful breath while sitting up in the booth they're sitting in, Rose gently takes his face in her hands as she studies his injuries of a black eye, swollen cheek and jaw.

"I've known you long enough to know when you're lying to me, iknow when you're hiding your feelings from me. Just point to where it hurts and I'll kiss it better for you... Hey, it always works with Harper." Rose adds in haste when Connor gives a skeptical, unamused expression, but relents and allows her to move close. He points to his jaw and she leans in to kiss it softly as not to hurt him anymore, then his cheek and she kisses it softly like before, then his closed black eye. And finally, Connor slowly points to his lips in hopes Rose will kiss him there too.

Rose breathes hesitantly, but doesn't pull away and rest her forehead against his. "Are you sure you want me to kiss you there?"

Connor nods. "It hurts not to have you close, it hurts not to know your touch anymore, or not having your lips on mine anymore. I am so sorry for everything I said to you this morning, everything I did to you and everything my family has done to yours. I never meant to hurt you, we weren't talking and I only said those hurtful things because I thought I wanted to be strangers again, so it would be easier for you to leave. I don't want you to leave, I love you and my family. I don't want us to be stran."

"Shut up, Connor." Rose leans in and kisses his lips before he kisses her back with passion and closeness they've missed about each other over these last months, a kiss meaning forgiveness for everything they've done to each other in the service of their ghosts. "I love and forgive you. No matter what happens to us, we will never, ever be strangers again. I should've come to you after I calmed down from that night and we should've talked about how to move forward to becoming close again because I need as my friend."

"Ah, why can't you be that romantic with me?" Dinah asks, nudging Ted's arm as they watch Connor and Rose kiss privately from their stools at the counter.

"What? I'm romantic, I bought this milkshake to share with you, and remember what we did together in movie theatre when the lights went down?" He says, stirring his straw in the chocolate shake. "I still don't trust that kid, but Rose is cool, her strange colored hair matches badass attitude. It holds nothing to your own badassness." Ted kisses the side of her head lovingly.

"How are you actually doing?" Rose lays her head on Connor's chest as he holds an ice pack to his face.

"Well, I got punched by my grandfather for talking with my grandmother and not gonna lie, it hurts like hell, did I ever tell you Ted becomes a world champion heavy-weight boxer and vigilante hero in the 70s before my mother is born? So being punched by him is like being punched by brick wall. I wouldn't want to get into the ring for nine rounds with Ted 'Wildcat' Grant."

"Well, with the way you took that hit, he's not the only champ here." She says in Connor's ear with a flirty tone before tucking her head down out of embarrassment. "I can't believe I just said that. Don't you dare tell Olivia or Harper, I still like to believe that I have a badass rep to protect." In truth, Rose knows she isn't the same badass she once was. Now she's a badass mother who will do anything to protect her family.

Connor smiles as he studies the pages of Sam's Speed Force notes, one equation stands out above the rest. 3x2(9YZ)4A, he doesn't know what it means, he just knows it's important from seeing it written on a board in Wally's Speed Lab when he was there months ago. "Your secret is safe with me. In other good news, I think I have what we came for. I can ask Rip for a pick up, If you're ready? We'll have to get burgers and shakes before we go? The prices here are ridiculously cheap, I can get four shakes for a dollar."  

"Sure, we'll bring dinner for the family that's 56 years in the making." Rose watches Connor get up from the booth, but she calls him back when remembering the mustang in the parking lot. "If being in the mustang has reminded me of anything it's that I need to slow down and breathe sometimes. Can we take your mustang and go driving together this weekend? I want to remember what it's like to be a teenager again."

"I'd love to go driving with you." Connor kisses Rose again, watching out the diner window as three jet black 1957 Chevy Bel Airs pull in the parking lot and three men from each car step out with baseball bats, brass knuckles, and pistols. He leans close to Rose, seemly lovey dovey as the men enter the diner. "Heads up, I think we have a situation here."

Connor and Rose stand and walk closer to the men as they approach Ted and Dinah with a scary determination. The leader slams his bat on the counter to tear the lovebirds apart. "You Ted Grant?"

Ted stands and immediately towers over the older man with his massively tall, intimating stance. "Who's asking?"

"Our boss wants to teach you a lesson for beating his son within an inch of his life. If you kneel and take your beating like a man, we'll leave your girlfriend and this other nice young woman alone. If you don't, things could get rather messy, and I'm not talking about blood."

"Teddy, what is he talking about? Who did you beat this time?" Dinah asks with worried anger.

"Dinah, please trust me." Ted's stance remains strong as he gets right up in the leader's face with calmness in his eyes. "If you think I'm going to kneel, you have another thing coming, take your shot and we'll see who's still standing when this is over!"

The leader chuckles on the up swing of the bat, but everyone is surprised when Rose catches it before it connects with Ted's face. She breaks it effortlessly over her knee and tosses the pieces away. "I don't like it when stupid people do stupid things to good people. You don't want to hurt my friend, take your band of idiots and walk away now or I'll feed you your teeth." 

He chuckles again, placing a hand on Rose's shoulder, but removes it when Rose gives a confident, intimidating smirk that causes him to step back into the safety of his men. "Listen girly, girly, you're the one who should be walking away. Looks like I'll have teach that lesson when we're done with Ted here. Just wait your turn, it's going to be fun."

"'Girly, girly?' You think I'm a 'girly, girly?' Let me show you who I really am. Hold on, I don't want to fuck up my hair when I fuck up your face." Rose laughs and shares a look with Ted as they both remove their jackets because they know what's about to happen. She hands it to Connor along with a hair tie so he can tie her hair back in a ponytail, she smiles at Connor as he steps back seconds before she gives the leader a knock out punch to floor.

Ted quickly dives in and begins the punching to help Rose with a smile on his face because this going to fun. He tackles one thug and punches him over and over until backhanding another man who tries to help his friend. He punches another man before sending him to be closed lined by Rose.

Connor makes sure Dinah is safely hidden behind the counter before join the fight as well, taking out his bow and using it as handheld close combat weapon against the men with great precession. He ends up back to back with Rose surrounded by unconscious thugs and more coming. "This is fun, I'm sure I've seen this in a movie somewhere."

Rose chuckles, trading her gun for Connor's bow. "I think you've seen Indiana Jones 4 too many times. But we need to focus right now because there are more goons coming in, and they have tommy guns this time." She takes his hand and they dive behind the counter for cover with Ted quickly following suite seconds before the diner is blanketed in a barrage of bullets by the heavy artillery brought by the men.

"WHO THE HELL DID YOU GET IN A FIGHT WITH?" Rose demands, shouting to Ted over the loud roar of bullets.

Ted breathes raggedly as he looks at Rose with absolute fear, still coming to terms with being shot at. "Um, I told you it was some kid! Thomas, Thomas Wayne. I didn't think he'd send daddy's goons to try and kill me. I never wanted to drag Dinah or you two into this, I'm sorry."

"Wayne? You gotta be kidding!" Rose blind fires the last bullets in her gun and looks at Connor, they both share of worry because they might not make it out of this alive, but at least they're going down swinging together. "Hey, you have anymore tricks up your sleeve? I noticed you didn't have arrows with you when I walked in."

"I left my quiver on the ship, I didn't think this would happen and I wanted to be inconspicuous, just cover your ears."  Connor leans in close to give one last loving kiss to Rose's lips before fearlessly vaulting the counter, raising his hands and using his sonic blast ability to force the bullets to stop in mid air and fly back at the men firing them as they scream in pain of Connor's attack, his blast isn't enough and one of bullets strikes his right leg, but that doesn't stop him his powerful attack. Dinah sees what the young man is doing and decides to join in with her own Canary Cry, much to Connor absolute surprise.

Dinah and Connor begin studying other, probably to determine what the other will do. Then it hits her that this man is possibly her son or grandson. "With all this hatred and bigotry going on these days, I don't think we need to hate each other because of our different abilities. Don't tell anyone about me and I'll do the same you, young man."

"Yes, Ma'am." Connor sits down behind the counter and is finally able to breathe easy again at the sight of Rose smiling back at him after the battle is over. "I don't know about you, but I'm more than ready to go home."

She chuckles, breathing easy as she rests her head on his shoulder. "Lets go."

After the fight, the four of them sit down and talk while waiting for the cops to arrive, Connor tells them that they're travelers from the future, how they're related and significance of Ted and Connor's shared car, even going so far as to put Rose's set of keys in the ignition to prove who they are. Now they stand outside as Rose and Ted load the mustang as Connor and Dinah load a Chevy that was left behind to go their separate ways.

"I don't know you well yet, but I still have to know if you kids are going to be okay getting home to the future?" 

Connor shuts the trunk and smiles as Dinah places a hand on his shoulder. "Yeah, we'll be fine, we're just going to meet our ride home in a field somewhere. Don't worry, Grandma."

Dinah's eyes go wide at the name he called her, feeling uneasy about it because she's not ready for it. "Can you stick to Dinah?  I would like to think I've got a few years left to persue my music before I settle down with Ted." She glances at the guitar in her hand before looking at Rose and Ted talking, then back at Connor. "Are Teddy and I happy in the future? Are you kids happy?"

He nods with a sad smile. Truly, he hasn't been happy for a long time, but since he and Rose have begun speaking again, he knows everything will be better. "I can't tell you much about your future, just keep doing your music and teach your children how to do it themselves when they come along while Ted teaches them how to fight. My whole family's about music and kicking ass."

"Good to know."

Ted writes an address down on a piece of paper for Rose to keep. "You certainly know how to handle yourself in a fight and my family owns a boxing gym in a small town called Reefside, so when you two get back, come by and we'll have a few drinks together. I may have a job to suit your style. Thanks for getting me out of my slump."

"I take care of my family, that includes everyone. Just be sure to take of yourself long enough to offer me that job in the future. I'm not a hugger, but I'll hug you if you want?"

"Neither am I, I'll take a quick one though." They embrace each other in a friendly hug for a split second then separate just as fast with a look on faces like it never happened, what they don't know is Connor took a picture of the sweet hug between the two on his phone. "Good talk, Rose."

"What's that?" Dinah asks in curiosity, referring to the phone in Connor's hand before he has a chance to sneak it back in his pocket. 

"It's a small mobile smart phone, you get them in the future and one things you can do is take a picture whenever you want, just don't tell anyone. I just took sneaky a picture of those two loveable curmudgeons over there, I can take one of us too. I promised my sister souvenirs."

"How 'bout one of us together? Teddy, Rose, We're coming to you! We're all going to take a picture with Connor's futuristic smart thingy!"

They walk over to the mustang, Rose and Dinah smile closely with they're cheeks pressed together in the middle as Connor and Ted stand on the far opposite sides of them, yet close enough for a good picture. Connor snaps a picture of the four leaning against the mustang with bright, hopeful smiles on all their faces while the sun sets behind them, smiling because in this moment they're okay, in this moment, despite every bad thing the world has done to all of them, they're happy.

* * *

Connor and Rose are the last team to arrive back at the Watchtower in the future, Connor is finally able to release the protective harness of the chair he's in and stand up when the pain from his leg wound forces him to the floor of the ship. He stares at his wound in subtle surprise of it as the adrenaline rush from today's adventure wears off. "Hey Rose, I forgot to tell you, I was shot."

Rose and Rip are down by his side before he falls, she takes him into her comforting arms while chastising him for being shot. "What? How can you not tell when you've been shot?! I'm pretty sure the blood coming out of you is a give away!"

Connor gives a dopey smile, beginning to pass out from pain. "Honestly, there were signs I should've heeded sooner, I knew the milkshakes weren't making me sleepy. Don't worry, I'll have it looked at after we talk about our relationship now and I also need to grab our gear from the ship." He gestures to his quiver and her pistol on a table near the ship's main console.

Rose looks at their gear then back towards Connor and gives a kind, gentle smile as she leans to kiss him softly. "Hey, there'll be time to talk about our relationship, but we can't do that if you've bled to death. Rip's gonna take you to the infrimary to be banaged up by Hunter, I'll meet you there after I'm done grabbing our gear. Hey time boy, how do I lock up the ship, is it like a Ford Taurus?"

"No, the Waverider isn't a car. Please grab your gear, the ship's A.I: Gideon will handle the rest. Just don't break anything in the process!" He shouts back, decsending the ship's ramp with his arms around Connor to help him walk.

"Just don't break anything in the process." She says in a mocking tone, giving Rip the finger behind his back. "Please, I'm very careful. I'll show you." She shoulders the quiver of arrows and holds her loaded pistol in her hand, then goes to leave until she catches something out of the corner of her eve. A single green arrow shot into the ship near the main control console.

She smiles and can't help but feel love for Connor as she removes it, he must've threatened Rip to turn the ship around after they were separated. If today has showed her anything, it's that she and Connor will go to the end of the Earth for each other even when they're hurting because that what people who love each other do.

Maybe she should've left it and asked Rip to take care of it because when she does, it causes her to jump and shoot her pistol at the sound of a loud, sudden and blaring red alert alarm going on throughout the ship, followed by the main door deadlocking shut as a safety precaution as the engines fire up. The situation doesn't get better when a hologram of a woman's head appears to try and calm things. "Please, don't do that again, miss Wilson. I am Gideon and you just fired a bullet into the ship's main flight controls, sending it to fly into the time stream. I suggest you buckle up because your skull can easily break if you're not strapped in when we crash land!" 

"What? Where am I going? Is there a way to stop this?" Rose asks in a clearly scared tone. Gideon doesn't answer her, instead trying to autopilot the ship somewhere safe as Rose tries to get buckled in, but she's forced from her chair and cracks the viewing window with her head before having a chance to bring the safety harness over her torso, knocking her out as the ship continues to fly. 

Tingly sparks falling onto Rose's head is what causes her to wake with an intense, throbbing that reminds her of the hangovers she would have when waking up in Connor's bed at Titans Towers after a night of drinking with him. She places her hand on nearby console to help her stand and peek out to find herself in a alley in what seems to be modern time. "Gideon, are you still with me? Where are we? It doesn't look we've traveled in time."

The hologram doesn't appear, but Gideon can be heard over the ship's intercom. "I'm still with you, miss Wilson. I have good news and bad news as to where we've landed. The good news is, we've landed in your home city of Seattle Washington. The bad news is, we've landed in your home city of Seattle Washington in the year 2004 and we appear to be stuck here."

Rose is already exhausted by today's events and feels more exhaustion coming on as she touches her bloody head wound. "Oh, you've gotta be fucking kidding!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will do stories do time travel stories about the other team's adventures. I'm also thinking about doing some solo stories about Ted Grant, so let me know if that's something you would like to see because he still needs to become best friends with Diana and retire to Reefside, like he is in my other story?
> 
> In DC comics, there are two women who have been Black Canary. The first is Dinah Drake then her daughter Dinah Laurel Lance takes the mantle to honor her mother. Connor was talking to Dinah Drake in the diner.


	9. My Brother's Keeper.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose Wilson is stuck in the past and now she must seek out the help of allies she thought long gone, but can she leave the ghost from her past behind? After all the clues are assembled, Wally must enter the Speed Force to bring Sam home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm sorry about the seven month hiatus from this series, I never meant to abandon series, I just got so sidetracked with my personal life and writing my other two series to do with this Legacy and with that being said, I plan to alternate writing chapters for this series and my other current series like I had originally planed to do. (If I can stick to it this time around.) I also changed my Tumblr URL to travasourus-rex if anyone's curious. So, with that out of the way, let's get onto the story.

* * *

"What do you mean I'm stuck in the past? There has to be a way back home to my time, have you fired up the Flux Capacitor? Is the parking brake on?" Rose asks, her face pressed down on the ship's main console in exhaustion of the pointless conversation she's been having with Gideon for the past fifteen minutes.

"Movie references aside, Ms. Wilson. There doesn't appear to be an immediate solution home, and banging on the control console to try making it work will not help us come up with one."

"Alright, I've seen enough Doctor Who episodes to know it's probably something wrong with the ship, can you please bring up some schematics of the affected area?" Rose's attention is drawn to the round table in the center of ship when Gideon brings up a blue hologram schematic of The Waverider with three red flashing dots to show the broken areas in the Time Engine. Just looking at the dots, Rose knows she can't begin to think of a way to fix them, even with her extensive knowledge of mechanics and robotics. "I can strip down a car engine in less than an hour and put it back together from pieces just as fast, but I'm gonna need help understanding what I'm looking at."

"I can walk you through step by step repairs, Ms. Wilson. Just grab the tool kit from the inventory room."

Rose nods, taking off her jacket and rolling up her sleeves before going to the other room and grabbing what she needs. She comes back with a large tool kit in one hand and a roller seat under her arm, she sits the roller down next to the damaged engine and removes the tools to begin her work. Starting the process by removing the bullet and replacing the broken parts, then the rest of the repairs go by quickly when you know what you're doing and Rose would compare it to helping Connor fix his grandpa's mustang.

"Fire it up and let's try this." Rose rolls out and sits up from underneath the engine after finishing the final repairs, she wipes her hands clean of oil and grease as Gideon starts the engine. They start out strong with purrs as they should be, then quickly sputter out and die in a puff a smoke much to Rose's annoyance. She throws the wrench in her hand across the ship before clutching onto her hair in frustration. "What the fuck did I do wrong? I fixed the ship exactly to your specifications, Why did it go up in smoke like that?"

"Yes, it would appear you have, but it would also appear that the new parts you installed may need some time integrating with the ship. I suggest you get comfortable because we're gonna be stuck for a while, there are snacks and a TV in the common area. Please, enjoy."

Rose sits down a chair with an intense pout before her curiosity gets the better of her and she drawn to the main door leading out of the ship. An adventurous smile forms on her face, just because she is stuck in 2004 for the time being doesn't mean she can't do a little exploring while she's here. "Hey, Gide. Is the main door controls undamaged? I think I'm gonna do some looking around out there."

She goes over the controls and unlocks the door, preparing to leave as Gideon protests. "Wait! I don't believe that's a good idea, what if you are hurt or killed? What if you meet someone you're not supposed to and change your personal timeline?"

"What do you know? You're just a disembodied bitchy British lady, you're not my mother, even though you have her accent. If it pleases you, I'll take my pistol with me, but I'm going out there." She waves her pistol where she imagines Gideon is before putting it in her pants behind her.

"At least take a new earpiece with you so I can talk to you and tell you when repairs are finished." Rose takes Gideon's advice, putting a new com link in her ear, then walking out the door to explore, waving goodbye to Gideon as the ship is camouflaged to be hidden from the outside world.

Rose puts headphones on puts her IPod on shuffle to have music as she steps out to walk around an unfamiliar neighborhood that is 20 years younger than the she one knows. This is the last she has Olivia make a playlist for her, the IPod has most of her standard musical taste like Nirvana, The Neighborhood and Gang Of Youths, it also has NSYNC and country music, which she hates with a furious passion so much so that Rose considers throwing a rock into a record store selling one of their albums in the window.

The more she listens to the Olivia made playlist called: Rose's jam songs that I know she'll love, the more she walks around Seattle in a musical dance daze, but she isn't the only one because she sees a young teenage boy around Olivia's age wearing a hoodie, backpack and headphones about to walk into oncoming traffic in a busy intersection and she knows she has to take immediate action to save him. Damn, she hates that being a mom and having a loving relationship with people has made her soft, but she can't stand to see this kid be pasted on the pavement by an asshole who won't believes their car only has the accelerator pedel.

She quickly takes down her headphones and runs out to pull the kid back before either of them can be hurt. "You gotta be more careful, kid. I get listening to your tunes, but be mindful of..." Rose crouches down to be eye level with the kid as he removes his hood to reveal a young man with light brown hair and piercing green eyes she would recognize anywhere in the world because she has them too. "Grant? Grant Wilson?"

The kid looks with her with confusion as he takes off his headphones. "Yeah, that's my name, how do you know who I am?"

Rose is completely speechless of the person standing before her, her big brother at fourteen years old, five years before he dies. She knows she's been staring for long when she sees the boy's confusion grow, leading her to come with a shitty answer very quickly. "I saw it printed on your backpack when I pulled you out of the way, your mother must've sewn it in. I'm really glad I found you, now I will keep you safe. Don't worry, I'm a friend of your dad."

Grant chuckles dryly, trying to free himself from Rose's strong hold on his shoulders, but she keeps him where he is. "If you knew my father, you'd know that he doesn't have friends. He has targets that need to be killed and associates he hasn't killed yet. Now, let me go before I hurt you, lady."

"I'm definitely the second one, that's why I have to move you somewhere safe before he does kill me. Please, you have to come with me now." She begins pulling her brother along to nowhere, but Grant breaks out her hold when he roundhouse kicks her in the face and runs in the opposite direction. Rose wipes the blood coming from her mouth and quickly gets up to give chase after him. "Please, wait! I'm not going to hurt you. I'm trying to keep you safe!"

"STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!" Grant shouts even when Rose tells him to stop. They chase each other for blocks, neither of them stopping because they're not expected to stop because that's what Slade taught them. The chase comes to an end when Rose picks speed enough to tackle him onto the sidewalk and pulls him to secluded area. He tries throwing a punch, which she blocks easily before pinning his arms against a wall. "Why did you chase me? What the hell do you want?"

"Listen, I'm not really a friend of your dad because he's an absolute fucking monster of human being, but I'm asking you to please trust me because I promise to keep safe because I think part of you knows I'm one of the only people who will, right? Otherwise I wouldn't've spent the last five minutes trying to chase you down." Grant nods reluctantly, and she sets him down. "I'm glad we came to understanding. Please, don't run off again and I'll keep you safe."

"Safe from whom or what?"

"Slade Wilson. Come on, we need to find Joey, then I'll explain everything once find a place to keep you two safe." She grabs his hand tighter than before, then she leads him to large parking lot and begins picking the lock to the first muscle car she sees with Grant crouching down beside her. "Where is Joey anyway?"

"He's got a soccer game after school. I was on my way to take him home when you decided to did all that fancy moves and other shit to chase me down. You ever gonna tell me your name or who you are?"

Rose knows she probably shouldn't tell Grant her name, but she needs to build trust in order to have trust in return. "My name is Rose and I'm here to protect you and Joey from harm." She says softly, looking him in eyes with a warm smile before returning focus to the lock once more. "Tell me, why are you picking Joey up from soccer? Shouldn't that be your dad's job as the parent of the family?"

"Apparently you know him as well I do, so you tell me." Grant says with an annoyed tone.

"Fair point, I'm sorry. Get in, please and we'll pick up Joey together." She says, holding the passenger door open for Grant, who hesitantly gets into the car, his attitude towards this strange woman is somewhere between complete trust and a need to kill her before she kills him. She gets in after he does and successful hotwires the car to start it before she pulls out in the street to begin an adventure as two close familial strangers.

* * *

"Can we listen to the radio?"

Rose sees her brother reaching for the dial and shakes her head to stop him. "Maybe later, kid." She says, waiting in the parking lot of a elementary school for Joey to finish his soccer game. She sees Grant sneakily eyeing his door handle out of her eye and hits the master lock to stop him before he can escape. "I know it's a lot to ask considering I'm a stranger to you, but I'm asking to trust me for awhile longer then I will explain everything. I promise."

Grant's focus shifts to her and Rose can tell he's studying every detail on her face after noticing how similar they are to his own. "Do we know each other? You keep calling me kid and only my father calls me that. And you said that you're a stranger to me, but I don't think I'm a stranger to you."

"No, I call someone back home where I'm from that name and you remind a lot about her. Can we please stop with the interrogation for now." She says sadly, watching many children leave the field hand in hand with their parents, making her think of her own child. She wonders if Harper would like to play soccer when she's older, it would be a better activity then playing with sharp knives and loaded guns like her childhood. The last kid doesn't leave, instead he lingers in the parking with his head in his knees and Rose instantly knows it's Joey because she has been like that too many times to count.

"That's Joey. I'm going to wave towards our car, but I'm not gonna leave you." Grant opens the door and steps out to wave Joey over with a smile. As soon as Joey sees Grant, he runs toward him for comfort and Grant welcomes his embrace. Rose smiles at the sight, Grant always made his younger siblings feel loved and welcome in a bad home with a father that beat them down without mercy.

Joey looks past Grant to Rose sitting in the driver seat of an unfamiliar car. "Who's that girl? Did you steal another car with this girl for a joyride just to get a rise out of dad?"

"No, she did the lock picking and stealing, I'm just tagging along." Grant leans close to the nine year old and talks in a whisper. "Rose is a new friend that I barely trust, but she said that she'd protect us from dad and I trust her to do that more than I want to take you back to the house with dad. If things get sketchy with her, I'll give you a nod to bail."

They all get into the car with an uneasy feeling in their stomachs before Rose smiles warmly at Joey as she turns back to introduce herself. "Hey, you must be Joey, Grant has told me a lot about you. Don't worry, my name is Rose and I'm here to protect you and your brother for as I can. I promise."

"Rose who? What's your full name?" Joey says sharply, refusing to shake her hand when she offers it until she answers the question.

Rose doesn't let her face show how much that question freaked her out, she knows she can't reveal who she really is until she has moved her brothers to safety and earned their full trust, so she comes up with the only name she can on short notice, she's just glad Connor and Olivia aren't around to hear it otherwise they might freak out with joy. "Queen, my name is Rose Queen."

They shake each other's hand and Joey gives Rose a small trusting smile while Grant remains stone faced to his sister. She finally flicks on the radio to give the kids some enjoyment as she continues driving to the only place she can think of to keep them safe, her only happy home, the flower shop. They're about halfway there when Rose decides to take a shortcut through a neighborhood with speedbumps, Grant nods at Joey through the rearview mirror to open his door and jump out when she slows down for the bump. 

Rose sees Grant and Joey slowly open their doors out of the corner of her eye, so she speeds up and preforms a 180 degree turn to the left to force the doors closed, throwing her brothers back into the safety of the car. Once her brothers are safe, Rose puts the car in park and yanks the keys out before looking at them in shocked relief as she chews them out. "What the hell do you boys think you're doing? You could've been hurt!"

Joey cowers in fear, guarding his body because this mystery woman is yelling at him like their father does and he know what comes after the yelling stops, which causes Grant to come to his defense. "Honestly, we would've taken the jump if that meant not spending another minute in a car with a woman who says she's going to protect us, but is clearly taking us somewhere private to kill us. You've led us around all afternoon without answers and we won't go any further with you until we get some! Who the hell are you?!"

"Fuck it." Rose sighs heavily with her head on the steering wheel like an exhausted parent before looking at her brothers softly, fighting back tears as the truth comes out. "Fine boys, you want answers, I'll give you brutally honest answers. My name isn't Rose Queen, its Rose Wilson like yours, I will be born April 25th 2005 to Slade Wilson and Lillian Worth, even though I consider your mother Adeline Kane to be my mother because she took me and raised with you boys after my biological mother died. I'm your baby sister from twenty one years in the future and I'm stuck in the past for the time being, so let me keep you boys safe because you two always kept me safe when we were growing up, now it's my turn." 

"We believe you." The brothers share a nod in belief of who she is before surging forward out of their seats and take their younger sister into tight, comforting hug. Rose melts into their embrace with tears in her eyes as Grant speaks up. "Why are you helping us? Dad doesn't, he doesn't give a single damn about us."

"Slade's an asshole, and I compulsively take care of others when I don't know how to take care of myself, which happens a lot the more I think about it." Rose lifts her head from her brothers' embrace after a long hug and puts each of hands on their cheeks. "I promise to keep you boys safe from that monster and anyone else for as long I can. Dad trained me to be a monster, so I how to fight them. Just please trust me."

Joey gives a smile as they settle back in their seats. "We trust you, Rose, but where are you taking us? are you taking us to one of dad's safe houses/weapon caches hidden around the city?"

Rose shakes her head, starting the car and pulling onto the street once again. "I'm taking us to one of my houses that I own in the future, but this neighborhood has changed a lot in twenty years. Do you happen to know where I can find Sherwood Florist?" The brothers guide their sister through Seattle and it takes all evening to find the shop between Jimmy's 24/7 diner and children's toy store.

"Where are we?" Grant asks, looking at the hanging wooden sigh reading 'Sherwood Florist' written in Blackwater font as he helps Joey out of the car and onto the sidewalk.

"My home. This is the only place I could think to bring us, we should safe here, but please stay behind me in case I'm wrong." Rose pulls her pistol out as she slowly approaches the front door. It's after hours, so she knows the store is closed forcing her to use her keys on a lock that shouldn't work, but they do to her great surprise and Rose is in the store with ease. She taps the com link in her ear to make a note as she walks in. "Gide, remind me to change the locks to this place when I get home to my time."

"Will do, Ms. Wilson."

She keeps the gun in her hand while leading her brothers into the store, they peek past her tall figure to find it completely empty. She leads them through the darkened shop carefully until she reaches the hidden basement steps, peeking out as she goes down the steps to find a green recurve bow held in a glass case with a quiver of arrows and black leather jacket on back of a office chair with two small sonic devices next to computer with three monitors, this place is empty too.

The brothers rush past her down the stairs, excited to check out all the advanced tech in The Quiver as Rose has come to call it. "Boys, wait! It could be dangerous." Her warning fails to register as Joey is pinned by four arrows against the wall and Grant disappears into the shadows with a yelp of pain. Rose vaults the stairs, her grip tightening on the pistol as she aims it at the part of the room still shrouded in darkness "I didn't know this place was occupied, I just need a safe place for my brothers and I, please."

"Who the hell are you and how the hell did you get in here?" Oliver Queen demands, stepping out of the shadows with his bow drawn and Dinah Lance holding Grant with an arm around his neck.

Rose looks at the ghosts before her, shocked that their alive and standing up strong so close to her. She has to fight the urge to reach out and hug them when remembering the current situation. "Ollie, Dinah, I know you don't know me, but we can keep our weapons drawn on each other as I explain, just let my brother go, please." She pleads in desperation.

Oliver notes her tone and nods at Dinah to release Grant, who runs to free Joey from the wall as the adults keep their weapons up. "We played your way, now play our way. Who are you, how do you know who we are, and how did get you into the shop?"

"I'm Rose Wilson and I got into the shop because I have a key as one of the owners with your two children twenty years in the future. That's how I know who you are, our families are close because I'm dating and living with your son."

"That's ridiculous! Dinah and I don't have any children, she isn't even pregnant. Now, you start making sense or I'll test my aim against yours and we'll who comes out on top." Oliver scoffs, his fingers tightening on the bow string. He doesn't see Dinah's mouth agape in shock of what the girl said until she puts a hand on Oliver's arm, telling him to lower the bow.

"Oliver, lower your bow away from the children, I believe her. I went to the doctor today after feeling sick the last few days and she gave me some wonderful news. I'm pregnant, we're going to have a baby!" Dinah says, unable to contain herself with the widest, happiest smile Oliver has ever seen on her. "I was going to get a second opinion and surprise you, but it's confirmed now. So, surprise!"

"You serious? I thought we couldn't have kids after what happened to you in that drug den a year ago." Dinah smiles and nods to his question, so he drops the bow and picks her up by the waist and twirls her around in love and glee as if they're the only two people in the world before setting back down with a deep loving kiss. As Rose watches the moment, she wishes it was her and Connor kissing, which is weird because Connor is who they're celebrating.

They kiss until Rose has to cough awkwardly to break them apart. "Look, I'm happy for you guys, I know the happiness a child can bring. But Slade Wilson is my dad from hell and all of our enemies, so I need to keep my older brothers safe from his wrath while I'm in this time period until I can get home, this is the only safe place I could think to bring them because it's home for me. Please, I wouldn't be here if I had any other choice. We'll be completely outta the way, you guys can have the big bedroom, my brothers can share a bedroom and I'll sleep in the other one."

Dinah and Oliver look at the pleading children before them and nod with a sigh in agreement to let them stay for until Rose can get home. She comes forward with kind smile aimed at the brothers. "You kids must be hungry after driving around all evening, how's pizza sound for dinner?"

They nod and go upstairs with Dinah, leaving Rose and Oliver to clean and restock their assorted gear. "Be nice and don't you dare break anything." Rose warns her brothers, which is immediately by something shattering in the distance. She looks at Oliver apologetically while he sorts through his arrows. "Sorry about them, I really appreciate you  and Dinah letting us stay here."

Oliver slams his bow down on the desk to scare Rose, then looks at her in anger. "We both know why you're really here, Ms. Wilson. God, I thought Slade and I had an understanding to stay out of each other's way, so why did he send his kids to spy on me at my home?"

Rose raises her hands in surrender, trying to defuse the situation when that isn't her strong suit. "Slade doesn't I'm here, he doesn't even know I exist because I'm not born yet. I wasn't lying when I said I'm from the future and I own this place then, so I'm sorry that this is the only safe spot to bring my brothers. Please, you gotta let us stay, your like a father to m-"

"Hold on, I'm no one's father... at least not yet. I don't have any kids, so back off with the father figure bullshit and do me a favor, get the hell out of my house before you hurt anyone."

"Where's Roy? You say you're not a father, but you and Dinah took that boy into your home as your ward, he fights your endless war because he wants to be like you. Whether you believe or not, you're a father to this kid."

"Do you think I don't know where he is? Roy's spending the night at Wayne Manor with Grayson and the Prince boy." Oliver sighs, sitting down in a chair and pulling up a chair for Rose to sit as well. Once they're sitting down across from each other, Oliver looks at her with tired eyes, wanting this day to end and seeing that Rose shares his expression. "Alright, I'm going to ask you two questions and I want honest answers. What are you really doing here, and what do you really want?'

She takes a deep breath to fight back the tears that are already falling down her face. "I just want to go home to my life in the future. I miss my family because they're all I have and I need them a lot more then need me. I've been nothing to no one my whole life, but they're everything to me, they're my family and they make each day of my miserable life worth living."

"And your brothers upstairs in the kitchen with Dinah, why are they here with you and not with Slade somewhere else?"

A simple question and Rose doesn't have a simple question, so she looks at Oliver with an expression encompassing all of her brokenness left behind by her father's abuse, all the abuse her older brothers tried to protect her from. "They need me and I need them. It's as simple as that."

"Ollie, Rose, pizza's here and there are hungry mouths to feed. Come to dinner." Dinah shouts down at them from the kitchen.

"Be right there, Pretty Bird." Oliver stretches in his chair before standing and going upstairs, he stops halfway up the steps and looks back at Rose, who is still sitting in her chair in an absolute unfocused daze. "Hey Rose, you coming or what? Family dinner waits for no one." His voice snaps her out of it and she follows him up the steps. "I'll make up the other guest room for you after dinner once your brothers are settled in bed."

"Thank you." Rose says quietly, a small grateful smile forms on her face as she climbs the stairs up to the only safe home she has ever known.

* * *

"Please, don't touch my arm." Hunter says to Connor as he assess the bullet in his leg for the best way to remove it delicately while Connor is totally enamored by his bionic arm to the point where Hunter gives annoyed sigh, continuing to focus on his work. "Go on, ask questions about it. I really don't mind, just try not to squirm while I work."

Connor takes his words to heart and his mind lights up with questions. "When did you lose your arm because the last time we saw each other when I was younger, you had two fleshy arms? How did you lose your arm? Where did you get a new one? And can I please touch it."

"I've had this arm going on six years now and lost my left arm when I was kidnaped by a man with Deathstroke's Godkiller sword until the people at S.T.A.R. Labs made this new one for me. And no, you still can't touch it. "Hunter grabs disinfectant wipes and the appropriate tools to begin removing the bullet. "Take a deep breath and stay as calm as you can, this is going to hurt."

"So, you've personally been effected by Slade's particular brand of asshole assassin, too, huh?" Connor asks, grunting in pain as Hunter carefully removes the bullet, then cleans the wound and wraps it in bandages tightly.

"My wife and I have both been affected  by him in different ways. While I lost my arm to his sword, Lorena lost her grandmother to his sniper rifle. I know this probably won't mean much considering our families difficult past, but I am deeply sorry about your parents, they were both my role models while growing up so close to the Justice League and I had hoped to reconcile with them before they passed away."

"Yeah, they were my role models, too." Connor says with a heavy sigh of guilt as Hunter finishes wrapping his leg wound. "Thank you, Hunter, you're the first to offer an apology out of anyone on the Justice League. Are we done here?"

"Almost, I have to get all doctory on you for a second. I was able remove the bullet cleanly, but you must use crutches and keep your leg elevated when not moving around until it heals completely in a few weeks, or even months. Now, I have one more question to ask, cherry, green apple, or grape?" Hunter holds three candy suckers for Connor to take. "I'm a G.P doctor who deals with a lot of kids, so I always have them on hand."

"Can I take one for my sister?" Hunter shrugs, and Connor puts the green apple and cherry flavors in his belt before looking for a way to leave the infirmary to check on Olivia and Harper, but he can't see a clear path that doesn't involve putting weight on his leg, leading him to look at Hunter. "With my leg this way, can you carry me to my sister, please?"

Across the Watchtower, Lorena Prince walks around looking for a way to blow off steam after a long time travel mission when she hears a baby crying followed by a girl giving an irritated sigh coming from the League common room, she quietly pokes her head into the room to see Olivia rocking a wailing Harper in her arms while she has school books and a laptop on the table in front of her. "Harper, I love you, but unless you're going to help me finish my final english paper, please hush for a bit."

"I can help you." Lorena says suddenly while fully walking into the room. "Teaching fourth grade is my day job when I'm not being Aquawoman or a Queen and I have my masters in education, so I'm well qualified to teach any subject in any grade level. What book is your paper on?"

Olivia is taken aback by Lorena, she wasn't expecting this badass and gorgeous Aquawoman to also be a school teacher, but she needs all the help she can get after her tenth time staring at a blank document where her paper is supposed to be. "The Great Gatsby. It's boring and my paper doesn't seem to be coming to me no matter how hard I try to write it, I'd much rather hear about your time travel adventure. I heard from the briefing that you went to 1945, what was it like?"

"It was awesome seeing the world back then and we met some ghosts from our past while finding the clue to bring Sam home, Hunter met a younger version of Diana, and I met my grandmother as a baby. I'll tell you more if we work on the paper, I'm not writing it for you, but I don't want you to fail your english final. Now, The Great Gatsby is more than a cautionary tale of why you should never own a private swimming pool. The book has two central themes, time and The American Dream, sometimes those themes intersect."

"The American Dream is more of the dream of the main characters and that's where time comes in, Gatsby thinks he can repeat the past and be with Daisy while Daisy herself is stuc-" Lorena is cut off when Harper giggles from her spot in Olivia's lap as Olivia types possible ideas for her paper.

"Sorry, daisy is Rose's nickname for Harper and her face lights up whenever she hears it. She has nicknames for all of us, mine is kid because she treats me like her second kid."

Lorena's rage blinds her when Rose is mentioned because she knows her father's handy work very well. "Do you trust Rose? Is she good to you, does she good take good care of you?" Olivia becomes deeply offended by the questions, leading her to offer a quick explanation. "I only ask because Slade killed my grandmother by shooting her in the heart."

"I'm sorry to hear about your grandma, but Rose didn't do those things, Slade did and she isn't her father. I fight anyone who says differently because she isn't perfect, but she's still a good person who's just little rough around the edges like we all are, that's what makes us human. Maybe my brother is right, the Justice League has forgotten what it means to be human."

"You're right, my apologies... You have a good start on your paper, prehaps we can pick this up later if you need any help. Besides, I hear your brother walking in now." Lorena hears footsteps approaching from down the hallway, but she never expected to see her strong husband carrying Connor Queen in his arms bridal style when their families are notorious for not getting along . He sets Connor down on a nearby couch as Lorena tries her best to hold back a laugh. "Do I need to ask, babe?"

"Hey, I can make any situation look good and part of Connor's treatment is to stay off his leg for a few weeks after he received the wrong end of a , so I had to carry him here." Hunter takes a prescription pad out of his pocket along with a sample bottle of painkillers, he writes something down on the pad before handing both to Connor. "These are painkillers if your leg becomes unbearable and a prescription for more. Please, don't go overboard, these aren't Tick-Tacs."

"Go it, thanks again, Hunter."

Hunter goes to speak, but he is interrupted when Barbara Gordon comes over the Watchtower's intercom. "Hunter, please report the hanger bay. Diana, Wally, and I need your help." He waves the group goodbye and goes in to kiss Lorena before Barbara cuts in again. "Hey, I'm watching you on the cameras! No kissing when someone is missing, now, go."

"On my way, Barbara." Hunter leaves the room to the sound of everyone going 'ooohhh' like he's being called to the principal's office for getting in trouble. Diana places a hand on his shoulder when he joins the group down in the hanger and sees a smart board with the Speed Force Equation Connor found in 1968. "Hey mom, Connor is resting now. What are we looking at here?"

"I can answer that, pal." Wally says. dramatically stepping out from behind the board. "This is the equation Sam used to increase his speed and enter the Speed Force. The four of us are the smartest people on the League, so we need to solve this and turn the answer into coordinates." The four of them attack the problem head on quickly, with the collective minds, they're able to solve it within ten minutes, only to see the coordinates lead to Riverdale.

"I don't understand, I've been tracking Sam's speed signature with my satellites and haven't seen him anywhere, so how is he suddenly in Riverdale?" Barbara furiously taps on the tablet in her hand to reposition the Watchtower's satellites over Riverdale to search for Sam until Wally calms her down by placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Because he's not physically in Riverdale, he's still stuck in the Speed Force. Sometimes the Speed Force is a tunnel of pure energy, but depending on the Speedster it can take form as a earth corresponding with our own, including all of our locations and properties, meaning a Speedster can go in and get him out safely."

"Can you get him out, Mr. West?" Diana asks.

"I can go in, yes, but getting him to leave willingly is another story enterally." Wally pulls the Flash cowl over his head and runs in small circle to open a portal to the Speed Force before handing his phone to Hunter. "My phone is connected to the commlink in my suit. If I don't return with Sam in a hour, I'm probably lost and I need you to call Artemis because she's my lighting rod back to the world and she would kill me if I died again."

Hunter nods before watching Wally run through the Speed Force and watching the portal close as soon as it came in, leaving everyone astonished. "Oh, that never gets old."

* * *

"Hey son, are you alright? You look lost."

Sam's eyes snap open quickly to the sound of a unfamiliar yet comforting voice and he finds himself laying on a grassy hill with a college age man looking over him, he has combed hair with as he wears a simple red long-sleeve button up, blue jeans, and brown leather lace-up boots.

"Where am I? What is this place?" Sam asks, dazed and confused as he accepts the man's hand to help him sit up, looking around at the small town that seems to stuck in 1960's America with its old fashion cars and building, which compliments the all American retro aesthetic. "Who are you?"

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I'm a friend to all the people who've become the Flash, and as to where you are... well, that's a little more complicated. You're stuck a in place only Speedsters like you and me can access, the Speed Force. Come on, let's go for a run and I'll explain everything on the way to get you something to eat." The man races off on his own, leaving Sam to learn that he doesn't have the limitations of his wheelchair to move in this dimension.

Sam has tears of pure joy as he catches up with the mysterious man and finally feels the dirt of the earth move beneath his feet for the first time without any help or restrictions. It's simple, but it's more than enough for a  handicapped person like him, if only Veronica could see how happy he is right now. He doesn't slow down until the man has to pull him back from slamming into the outside wall of Pop's Diner.

"Pop's, I know this place, it's my favorite place to eat back home. Are we in Riverdale?"

"Come on, I'll buy you lunch." The mysterious man leads Sam inside to a place that is hopping with lively jive music coming from the jukebox, there is a brunette waitress about the same age as the man gliding around on roller skates who seems to recognize the gentleman when they sit down in a booth. "Hey, Joan. Can I have a BLT sandwich and a black coffee, please? Plus whatever my friend here wants to eat."

"Chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream and multicolored sprinkle on top and a glass of chocolate milk, please." Sam says his usual meal order with optimistic, childlike excitement. He may be a Flash with Thawne's near limitless knowledge of the Speed Force now in his head, but he still a wide-eyed ten year old at heart. 

"You got it, boyo." Joan ruffles Sam's hair, then writes the order down on her notepad before turning towards the man once again with a dopey, lovestruck smile. "So, are we still on for our date tomorrow?"

"Yep, and I've got a big surprise for you, Joanie." They both hear Joan giggle again as she rolls away before the man leans across the table and shows Sam a small velvet box with a engagement ring inside. "I'm going to purpose to Joan after our date tomorrow. You can live your life over and over the Speed Force, so this is my tenth time doing purposing, but I'm still nervous every time."

"I don't understand, how is it possible to live multiple lives here without time moving forward around you?

"Time does move forward here, I've just been in The Speed Force for many years that I've set the preferences of this place and I always set the clock back to the this time period to the beginning of my life when I to get to my twilight years. I can do this over and over as long as I avoid The Black Racer of Death." The man points outside through the window as a black blur that disintegrates a bystander just by moving past her.

"Got it, he's bad news." Sam takes an uneasy breath after learning that this realm has dangers too as Joan rolls past, her arms are full of to-go bags for the two Speedsters. "On the bright side, it looks like our food is here in containers, are we leaving?"

The man stands from the booth and takes the food bags while kissing Joan on the cheek before he and Sam disappear in a strike of lighting. "Thanks, Joanie. Come on, kid, I find it best to eat and think on the road when The Black Racer is around."

After eating their food while running at the speed of Mach 15, the two Speedsters race each other through a city that seems to stretch on for eternity without end, each person unable to gain an inch on the other until they come upon a grassy hill overlooking the local high school during a Friday night football game, and Sam lays back, content to spend the rest of his life in the Speed Force if this is what everyday will be like.

"I want to stay here for forever and ever, I won't go back to the physical world where I'll be teased for being in a wheelchair. Here I can do and be what I like with no one to stop me or hold me back." Sam says, his tone is erratic as dark circles form under his eyes.

Now the older Speedster has an uneasy expression on his face because of the madness Sam is unknowingly succumbing to brought on by staying in the Speed Force for too long. It's easy for someone with experience and knowledge of the realm to stay without going mad, but for Sam, the madness began to overtake him as soon as he arrived, and the man doesn't know how to help him.

"That isn't a good idea for you, kid." The man warns sternly. "You've been in here fifteen minutes already and I can clearly see the heavy strain it's taking on you, there's no telling what a lifetime will do. I'm sorry, but I must find a way to send you back home."

"He's right, it's time for you to come home, Sam. Everyone misses you." Wally says, jumping through a portal to the location of Sam and the other Speedster, who he seems to recognize as a close friend. "Hey, old-timer. How's your retirement going?"

The man laughs at the name, giving a shrug. "It has ups and downs, mostly good days and it's always exciting. It's good to see you again, Wallace, I was able keep the kid company until you arrived to save him from this place, but now it's time for you to go home, please." He says the last part directed at Sam himself.

"I TOLD YOU NO!" Sam screams at the two men as they try coming closer before he takes off at super speed, leading Wally to give chase after him. Sam is quick to learn just how outmatched he is when Wally is easily able to run beside him without breaking a sweat. He tries throwing a few wild punches that miss and do nothing to slow him down, so he just picks up the pace with his lighting trail beginning to change from yellow to red.

Soon, the world begins to blur around Sam and he laughs when thinking he got away from him, only to look up and see Wally jumping off the building above him with his fist ablaze with lighting. The blast causes Sam to tumble through the parking lot of the diner, the back of his head banging on a car door as the Black Racer comes upon his latest victim looking like a Zombie under a black Flash suit.

The Black Racer's hand begins to vibrate near Sam, and he closes his eyes with fear and acceptance of his fate when all he wants to do now is go home to his sister, he could run and probably get away with ease, but right now his legs feel effective as jelly and he doesn't have the will power to fight back as a child until Wally races in between them and phases his body through The Black Racer to grab Sam before racing off with the boy remaining unharmed by death.

From there, Wally and Sam pick up the pace, going faster than Flash Time, faster than time travel, faster than the speed of light, faster than even thought itself until the space around them becomes a white, endless and the Black Racer reaches out to touch Sam even when he crumbles into dust as they reach the end of time where death ceases to be a concept.

"When you're outrunning death, that works every time. Speaking from experience." Wally says to Sam with heavy breath as they return to the other's Speedster's location back on the hill. "I teach you more about the Speed Force later on after we get you home to your sister for a awhile, what do you say?"

"I'm ready to go home to Ronnie, please." Sam says, his tone is one of sadness saying he doesn't want to leave, but is more than ready to go home. He briefly turns his attention to the other Speedster, he is still a mystery and he wants answers. "You helped me get through this place and yet I don't know your name, who are you?"

"Ask Diana for a refresher on the Greek Gods, then you'll know who I represent." All he offers the boy in return is a friendly wink, as if he is wishing for him to have a happy life before looking at Wally with the pride of a surrogate grandfather. "Look after yourself and your family, and say hi to Barry for me whenever you get the 31st century, please."

"Will do, old-timer, so long as you take care of yourself too." Wally returns the wink before he and Sam run at the right speed to open a portal back to the physical world, leaving the other Speedster where he belongs in a heaven-like state.

The man waits until the portal closes to sit down against a tree, taking a brief rest as he watches the world he created go by peacefully until he hears a bank robbery happening in the distance, followed by the sound of police sirens. So, he takes action by running a circle to change his clothes, coming out wearing red running shoes and blue jeans, a burgundy leather peacoat  with a gold lighting bolt on the chest, lastly, the man places a sliver wing-tipped helmet on his head before racing off to do hero work. "They're playing my song."

Once they reach the Watchtower back in reality, Sam's legs give out from under him and he breaks down in tears for having so much freedom ripped away from him as Wally and Hunter carefully place him back in his new high-tech wheelchair, then everyone in the hanger looks at Sam, expecting him to be okay when they don't understand how he just can't be right now. So, he races off still wearing his Flash suit and uses the Watchtower's teleporter to arrive at the  Queen Industries building in front of the only person he has that understands him completely.

"Veronica?" Sam calls out to his big sister as she stands on the sidewalk waiting for her car in the middle of a downpour, his voice is slightly older and more mature after his tiring adventure, which makes it harder for him to recognized until they lay eyes on one another.

She immediately drops her briefcase and squats down at his eye level to hug him deeply. "Hi Sam, I was just about to call you to check up on you after your radio silence today and I wanted to tell you I finalized the merger with Connor, so we should go celebrate with dinner." Her tone changes when Sam begins to shake in her arms, and she removes the Flash cowl from his head to see some of the light from his optimistic eyes has vanished. "You must be freezing, how long have you been in this weather? Tell me what's happened."

With his sister's permission, Sam finally breaks down and Veronica is right there to hold him together the best she can as he explains the only thing on his mind through his tears. "Ronnie, I'm done playing superhero, I want to go home with you."

This is news Veronica has waited months to hear and she gladly accepts Sam's request by helping him into the car when it arrives and telling the driver to step on it back to Riverdale, she knows Sam will have his Speedster abilities for life and this won't be the last time he uses them to do good, but they'll cross that bridge when they inevitably get to it, for now, she has her brother back safe and sound. Once Sam is buckled in, he quickly falls asleep on Veronica's shoulder while listening to her words of comfort. "Don't worry, Sammy, we're going home, then everything will be alright."

* * *

Rose grunts, removing her changing her clothes while looking at her tired expression in the bathroom mirror before her hands travel to her bare back to inspect the large winding scar on her spine. Connor did a wonderfully clean job stitching her up all that time ago, but every so often one of her old injuries flares up with an intense pain to haunt her, she doesn't know why this scar suddenly decided to hurt when there are so many more scars on her body to choose from.

Unbeknownst to Rose, Dinah is on a laundry run around the house for her new, sudden guests and she can't but watch Rose look at her scars through the small opening into the bathroom. Dinah's eyes slowly the more she stares at the scars, how could someone so young have so much damage on her body? Is her son going to have the same damage in the future? She wants to investigate more until Rose sees her spying reflection in the mirror.

"Sorry Dinah, I thought I closed that door all the way. Did you need something?" Rose asks, taking the awkward moment in stride despite the small amount of embarrassment they're both feeling.

"Yeah, I'm going to do a laundry run soon and I wanted to know if you have anything for me?"

She responds by giving a pile of dirty clothes through the door opening before shutting it completely for privacy. "Thank you. I'm sure you have questions about what you saw, just give time me to change and I'll answer questions you have." Upon exiting the bathroom a few minutes later, Rose pulls down the sleeves of the Pajamas Dinah provided as walks to pick up Grant's backpack after he left on the floor outside his bedroom very carelessly like he's been living here for years.

"Come on, kid. We're staying here at the kindness of strangers for free, you could at least to pick up your stuff." She complains to thin air while kneeling to zip up the pack where she spots the orange and black Ravager gear, a collapsible katana blade, a couple of pistols and ammo to go with them. Jesus, this kid's packed to the nines probably for a mission given to him by Slade, a mission she must complete for him.

Her fingers tremble as she takes out the Ravager cowl, the same cowl she would inherit one day and stares it as the enemy of her happiness, a reminder of all the times she had to take happiness from strangers with the help of a bullet. "Rose, are you okay? You've been fiddling with that backpack for that last few minutes." Her thoughts are interrupted by Dinah and Oliver walking to her behind in Pajamas of their own.

"Yeah, just going down memory lane." She quickly puts the cowl back, zips up the backpack, then shoulders it before joining the others on the couch. "Now that my brothers are asleep, I assume you have questions for me, so lay them on me."

"Why do you have so many scars for someone so young? Does my son have those types of scars in your time?" Dinah regrets the blunt question as soon it leaves her mouth, but she can't fathom the idea of children being brought up in the same war on crime she and Oliver have been fighting for six years now. "Rose, are you and my son okay being heroes in the future?"

Oliver tries rewording the question until Rose waves him off, she then sighs while tries to reconcile the scars as trophies in a war she only joined to stave off her father's mental abuse. "You both know as well as I that in fighting a war like this, the body is the first price to be paid, then comes the nightmares and trauma, but your son and I found comfort in each other when drinking wasn't enough, I've loved him ever since. We began our relationship looking at each other for validation and codependency, then the honeymoon phase ended and the hardest fight came when we were separated, but he came home to me and I am able to see him as the good man he is. Now, I look into his beautiful blue eyes and I see a way out of this life, he's my way out and I know I'm his."

"I just hope he's okay, god, I hope everyone back home is okay. I need my family with me, my kid most of all." She admits with tears streaming down her face that she didn't mean to let go, shocking Dinah and Oliver. They just found out about having children, so how can they already have a grandchild? Rose quickly sniff away her tears and takes her phone out to show them a picture of her family taken shortly after Harper was born.

"This is your younger daughter Olivia, she's my best friend and has the patience of a saint in order to deal with the craziness of our family. This hot mess is your oldest son William, and I'm sorry to tell you this so soon after we first met, but I'm close with your son in the future, like really close, so this baby girl is our kid named Harper after Roy."

Oliver and Dinah can't look away from the photo, their grown-up children are beautiful, so happy, strong and put together even with the pain of being heroes haunting them, but there is one glaring issue that can't be ignored no matter how hard they want to and Oliver is the first person to address it. "We're happy for you kids even if you are so young, but where are we in the future? Why wouldn't we be there to meet our first grandchild?"

Rose visibly flinches at the question, she should've expected this question from the moment she found herself back at the flower shop in front of Oliver and Dinah, but she doesn't have a clear answer that won't reveal their future deaths. Why does time travel have to be so difficult. "I'm gonna tell you both straight up, something happens to you in the future and you're not around to meet Harper, and your son blames himself for all of it when he shouldn't. From that moment on, he felt this immense guilt to fix everything he has lost because he just wants to make both of you proud."

The three adults take a moment of silence to process what was said before Rose ignores Gideon's warnings to stop speaking about the future and turns off her com link in favor of showing Oliver and Dinah the tattoo on her shoulder blade. "I'm here to protect my brothers, but I can't stay for forever, so I want you guys to study my headstone tattoo and do everything in your power to prevent it from happening."

Just one glance at the deep anguish on Rose and the Queen's understand the gravity of this matter, so Dinah takes her hand to offer the young girl comfort. "What can we do?"

Rose breathes deeply and stares at the wooden door to the bedroom where her brothers are sleeping, drawing the attention of the others to the same position. "Keep them safe. Keep all of them safe and I'm not just talking about my brothers or your own children, but also look after Roy because he about to have a rough couple of years leading up to 2009 and he's gonna need both of you to help him through it."

"Do that and maybe we can save some lives and their sanities from this needless war between our two families, including our own." Rose pleads to Oliver and Diana with every emotion she has left to give for the night, leaving her tired beyond belief after the day's events as the others nod and take her request to heart. She lays down on the couch to sleep for the night knowing it's a definitely fool's errand to save her brother when his death is certain, but she has to give her brothers a chance to live as kids when no one ever had.

Not soon after everyone goes to sleep, Rose is in the middle of staring at the Ravager cowl again and thinking about she should go after Slade when she hears Grant screaming from the other room and she immediately hides the cowl in her room, then leaps into action for her brothers Upon entering the bedroom, she finds Grant screaming in his bed with his eyes closes as he experiences a vivid nightmare without any knowledge of people around him while Joey is huddled in the corner, once again shielding himself against what could happen.

"Hey, hey, look at me, it's over now and you're alright, just breathe." Rose sits on the foot of Grant's bed and gently holds Grant's face in her hands so their emerald green eyes meet before he slowly begins to calm down once he listens to the soft tone accompany her words and the sight of her slowly taking deep breaths. Grant eventually stops struggling and falls into her arms for comfort and Rose holds him close while check on Joey. "What about you? You okay?"

He nods shakily, but the fearful expression still dominating his face tells Rose differently, so she pulls him into the huddle. Soon, Oliver and Dinah rush into the room to protect the kids with a bow and brass knuckles drawn, only to see that Rose already has it handled in spades. Rose sees them at the door and gives an apologetic look for waking them before she separates from the embrace. "Come with me, I have a plan."

"We're gonna need to borrow your couch and kitchen." Rose says to Oliver and Dinah while passing them on the way out of the room. She leads them to sit down on the living room couch in front of the TV and she covers her brothers with a blanket before heading towards the kitchen to make fried eggs and shredded hash browns for everyone with the help of the Queens.

Near the end of the whole breakfast making experience, Oliver is still thinking over Rose's excellent handling of the brothers nightmares and leans over to give her praise while she serves the food on a couple of plates. "I don't know much about kids right now, but that was textbook parenting back there. Good job."

"Thanks, it's wasn't my first time dealing with nightmares like this." She doesn't turn around to face Oliver, she just effortlessly juggles three plates in her arms and walks to the couch, leaving him shocked at her bluntness. Rose takes her bothers out of their expressions of shell shock by sitting down between them and placing the plates in their hands. "Eat, you'll feel better."

Both of the brothers are slow to follow when she digs into plate and turns on TV to the BBC America channel to continue the tradition that she does with Olivia of watching Doctor Who. The modern show won't permire for another year, so she'll have to watch reruns of the classic show, but it gives her a chance to close her knowledge gaps for the next time Olivia drags her to participate in Doctor Who trivia night.

After the eggs are eaten, Rose gathers the empty plates and stand to take them to the sink, but Dinah takes the plates instead in favor of allowing the Wilson children more time together, so she sits back down, allowing Joey and Grant to the rest their heads on each of her shoulders as all become more engrossed in the show.

From afar, everyone in the Queen Household would appear normal, there's loving a mother and father with their three adorable kids. Up close, everything's more realistic and broken, and Rose will do anything to pick up the broken pieces and try putting them back together like families do, so it's time for her to become a hero, even if that means ending Slade here and now for the good of all.

* * *

Damn the timeline, Rose has had enough time glancing Oliver's liquor cabinet after her brothers went to sleep, now she's dressed in her full Ravager gear, weapons and all to ride to face Slade herself so her brothers and her present day family is spared his pain, and she's going there in style riding one of Dinah's classic motorcycles with the same excitement when she rode on the back hugging Connor.

Her thoughts change when she arrives at the last possible safe house for Slade in full view of countless guards, who all surround her when she pulls a her own sword in one hand. a pistol in the other hand covered in battle damage from previous safe houses and smirks at her targets to put the fear of God in them with her tricks. "I'll give you chance to leave safely, otherwise, youre going to be knocked out and I'm going to see Slade up close and personal. Your choice..."

In response, the gaurds slowly stalk towards her until she takes two handheld speakers to produce Dinah's blood cruddling canary cry on full blast, dropping everyone to floor in pain until they pass out, giving Rose a clear path to the elevator and she scoops an I.D badge from the cloesest gaurd before going to meet her father.

Rose's anxiety goes into overdrive as she watches the floor number increase, her hand begins to shake uncontrollable when the elevator jerks to a jarring stop in the form of asking Rose to swipe a key card to gain access to the penthouse floor. So she does as asked and swipes it, only to be told to enter an 8-diget date code as another layer of security trying to screw her over.

She knows Slade is the farthest thing away from being mistaken for the sentimental type, so the code probably won't Adeline's birthday or anything to do with his family, leading Rose to try the birthday of the family butler and assassin in his own right, Billy Wintergreen and when nothing happens, she tries the date Slade joined the army to have the same result as before. Rose has to try Grant's birthday just to cover all her base and her stomach twists in knots when it works. Of course Slade would see her brothers more like assets and cannon fodder to be used instead of children.

The doors open and Rose is met with a long dimly lit hallway made entirely of wood paneling, she doesn't even care to look at the esquate oil portraits of world famous conquerers from Alexander The Great and Genghis Khan to Napoleon Bonaparate because they may be great conquerers, but they're also bullies and this place will be burnt to ground if Rose has any say in how this night is to end.

Finally, she pushes penthouse doors open and is instantly men leather suitcases placed on the other side without a care that block her path into full entry. With great precision Rose is able to push her way into the penthouse without causing commotion that could wake the drunk, passed out mess who is Slade sleeping off his latest assassination contract with the help of Jack Daniel's.

Slade's drunken state is Rose's greatest asset right now. First, she examines the used plane ticket and baggage tag for a return trip to the United States from Cambodia, then she quietly unzip the case for evidence of her existence and a note falls out through a small opening, just by taking in the scent of Lillian's overwhelmingly rosy scented perfume and the sight of a deep red lipstick smudge left on the page and Rose knows her own future is secure in stone.

Next, Rose shoots all hidden and visible cameras in the penthouse with a silenced pistol, then she uses another of Dinah's devices as an EMP to knock any computers that may capture what is about to happen because nothing is going  to stand in her way of Slade. Rose considers storming over to her father's bedside and allowing her presence to be known as she puts a round of bullets into forehead for good measure, but no, a simple stroll will be enough.

She sits down in a chair next to Slade as he sleeps before she removes the silenced pistol from its holster and cups her hands together in prayer with the barrel of the gun turned upward. Rose isn't a religious person, she doesn't ask for salvation or forgiveness, it's too late to ask for those things after the horrors she has committed. In the end, Rose prays for the safety of her family and for their permission to kill Slade here and now in 2004 so they all can have peace.

Eventually, the prayers are done and Rose stands to aim the gun at Slade's head when a silent arrow flies into the room and deploys a zip harness around her that immediately causes her to fly out the penthouse doors without Slade being woken and into the hallway where Oliver is waiting with a bow between his crossed arms and a smug expression beneath his blonde goatee.

"Next time you want to go out at night without anyone knowing about it, don't drive off using one of Dinah's trackable motorcycles." Oliver silently makes sure the doors are shut tightly as he sits down so he can and Rose can talk privately. He removes his mask and hood, then gives Rose a look of parental concern. "You're lucky I found you before you did something to regret, what are you doing here?"

Rose's anger grows beyond the breaking point and her expressions transforms to match, unable to fathom why Oliver would ask such a question when their shared hatred of Slade is boundless. "Oh, please. You know exactly why I'm here, I'm going to kill Slade to save my brothers, to save us all, and I'm not going to let you stop me, Ollie."

"Slade deserves to die and I wont argue against you, but you shouldn't be the one who kills him because you're too good of a person to have anymore blood on your hands." Oliver's words cause Rose to look back at him in shock and she immediately begins shaking her head to dispute his preposterous claim, but he simply pats the space on the floor for her to sit down while he explains.

"You may not realize it now, but you are a wonderful person who is kind and compassionate while also being tough as nails protective towards your loved ones, which is why you have to let the legacy you're trying to uphold die with us and allow you and my future children to live happily unburdened by our past mistakes because we were all fools who started something we shouldn't have. Now, it's time for that to end and for you go home, I'll face Slade alone."

Rose only has a mere split-second to ponder Oliver's word's before Slade's fist punches through the solid wooden door centimeters away from Rose's head, he then rips the doors off completely their hinges as he appears to be a towering and hulking beneath a silk three-piece suit. "You were saying?" Rose says to Oliver sarcastically as they dash away and assume fighting stances.

Oliver quickly fires a pair of bola arrows to pin Slade against the wall and a third smokescreen arrow as a distraction long enough for Rose to jump in with a flying knee to Slade's face, then she cracks him on the head on the head with the hilt of her katana blade, a smirk of pride forms on Rose's face when landing on her feet once more to witness her father bleed so profusely.

Even Slade is surprise at how efficiently this new assailant works together with Oliver when he is giving it his all to defeat them, but it's really no contest when he is still heavily restrained by the bolas, so he is left at Rose's mercy when she wouldn't dare give him any. She absent mindedly lashes out against him with everything she has, each punch makes her hit harder as the memories of Slade's abuse flash across her mind.

The beating becomes so severe that Oliver has to pull her away, then quickly aims a deadly arrow at free eye before he can try anything. "New protégé, Ollie? I'm impressed." Slade says, a devilish smirk comes on his bruised face as blood trickles out of his mouth, which makes Rose uncomfortably so much that she must turn away.

"No, you just a lot of people who want to kill you and there's a club meeting every Tuesday, we should make t-shirts." Oliver's fingers pull back on the bow string tighter before he glances at Rose out of corner of his eye, but his focus doesn't leave Slade. "It's your call, what do you want to do with him?"

She responds immediately by removing her pistol from its holster at her side, cocking the hammer back, then aiming it directly at Slade's head so he has no chance of escape. Rose grits her teeth in anger of the thoughts clouding her mind, why is this decision suddenly so difficult to make? Her love for Slade was snuffed out long ago, but she still can't pull because in order to be the hero her family sees her as, she must be the one who clean her hands of blood. So, she gives Slade a knockout punch and puts the gun away with shaky hands.

"Burn this place to ash, let's not make it too easy for him to get out."

Oliver nods at her order, then makes the preparations with the proper explosive arrows. In a matter of moments, Oliver and Rose crash through the windows of Slade's penthouse and catches onto a grapple arrow quickly fired at a building across the street, but close enough so they can watch the fireworks as emergency crews arrive without being seen. Rose is surprised when Oliver pulls two beer cans from his quiver and gives one to her. "Here, I saw you eyeing my liquor cabinet all night, just don't go crazy because I'm sure you're not old enough."

Rose scoffs, cracking the can open and taking a heavy drink to celebrate her efforts tonight. "Please, I'm almost twenty." The two heroes develop a comfortable silence as they drink until the morning sun begins peeking over the horizon and she feels the com link buzz in her ear. Even without answering, Rose knows it will be Gideon telling her the ship is ready for the journey home when she isn't ready to leave this time period yet, so she come up with a plan to leave her bad reminders in the past. "I'm tired of looking at the scars on my back every time I look in the mirror, do you know a good place where I can get a tattoo to cover them and kill a few hours until I have to go home?"

"I was thinking we'd go home and wake up the others to get pancakes somewhere, but your plan works too." Oliver jumps down from the building the fire escape and makes a b-line for his motorcycle stashed away in a nearby alleyway. "I just so happen to know an all-night tattoo pallor that does very good work, it's a really up and coming place."

Rose can't but chuckle as she walks to her own motorcycle hidden next to his. "Y'know Ollie, with the goatee, your life in Seattle, and your affinity green plaid, you might be the world's first hipster before they ever become mainstream."

Oliver stops dead in his tracks and raises an eyebrow in confusion. "What's a hipster?"

The early morning sun and the crisp Seattle air provide the perfect backdrop for the pain during the time Oliver and Rose receive their separate tattoos. They're only comfort is when they hold the other's hand for support as Oliver goes first, receiving a tattoo of an arrow shaft that transforms a soring canary carrying a ribbon halfway down his arm.

Rose's tattoo is vastly different, but no less important when she gets a spiral tattoo of intertwining flowers covering most of her back and hiding the scar on her spine, each flower is a representation of herself and the family waiting for her back home and while Rose gets her namesake flower as well, she also has lilies for Connor, marigolds and cosmos for Olivia, and most of all, daises for Harper. All in all, she  leaves the experience pleased with her choice of ink, even if she has to wear tank-tops until it heals.

By the time they leave the tattoo pallor, the noon sun is well above their heads accompanied by the birds singing a peaceful tune in the trees, which complements a cloudless, calming blue sky and to everyone except for Rose, it would be the perfect day, but she is missing some very important people. She looks down at the sidewalk because she can't bare to look Oliver in the eyes when expressing the need for her family. "Ollie, this last 24-hours have been great with you and Dinah and my brothers, but I miss my family and Gideon says it's time for me go home."

Oliver nods, trying not to let disappointment show on his face when he reaches for a pocket in the back of his utility belt and hands three enveloped letters addressed to his children and Rose herself. "Based on what you told us about our children, Dinah and I wrote these letters to give them love and guidance when we're no longer there. I know you're not our kid, but you're the closest person we have to a daughter in-law, so you get one, too. I hope it helps."

"Thank you, Mr. Queen, for your generosity and hospitality, for everything your family has done to make mine feel welcome." Rose pockets the letters for safekeeping close to her chest, then she holds a hand out for Oliver to shake when he just takes her into a friendly because even though their time was brief, the Queens feel more than comfortable seeing Rose as family.

Rose can't help it when the same adventurous smile returns to her face as she walks in the opposite direction away from Oliver, which causes her to turn around with one more goal requiring completion before she can think about heading home. "Hey, this is a weird question, but do want to go home and grab everyone so they can see me off at my time ship?"

"Yeah, why not?" Oliver says without missing a beat while catching up with up and the same smile overcoming his face as well. It doesn't take long for Rose and Oliver to gather everyone up when they're told of today's activity, Dinah has her digital camera in her hands and shock on her face once she is told of last night's events, Grant has the same skepticism Rose had when she was first told about time travel, and Joey is ready to burst at the seams with excitement until Rose leads the group into an alley, then decloaks her ship and lower the ramp to show the Waverider in its full glory.

"This is so cool! you're the best sister ever, thank you so much!" Joey says in a tone of childlike wonder as he races up the ramp as fast as his feet will carry him so he can look at all the ship's bells and whistles while he has a chance.

"Yesterday, I put the engines back together piece by piece, so please don't break anything!" Rose says sternly while she enters the ship as well. Grant gives her a look saying he'll take care of Joey now and after she leaves this time period, which brings her a small measure of peace when she sits down at the flight controls and begins making her final checks to journey home.

When she is finished, Rose turns her chair to sees Oliver and Dinah slowly walk over a table where Rose left unnecessary gear behind, their gaze fixed on Connor's Green Arrow armor as if they're seeing the ghost of a man that would one day inherit the bow in Oliver's hand "This is mine, Why is William using this old thing when I thought he would have access to latest and greatest tech in the future?" Oliver says, recognizing the weapon as the same one he used hours earlier.

"Yes, it is. After what happens to the both of you actually happens, your assets go up in smoke and your son and I have to make to new gear for ourselves repurposed from the old stuff, so I made him this armor to honor you as his parents while keep inline with his style. Do you like it?" She asks apprehensively, afraid of rejection from the people who have quickly become her heroes as much they are for Connor and Olivia.

"It's very impressive, you should be proud of your work." Dinah says while tracing her fingers over a black canary engraved in the side of the wooden compound bow.

The young girl bows her and tries hiding her smile until high-pitched ringing sounds off in her earpiece seconds before Gideon begins chewing her out for her actions. "Ms. Wilson, do you know what you've done by bringing your brothers onto this ship? What if their presence here changes the course of human history? I am sorry, but everyone has to leave immediately and we must go as well."

Rose scoffs, happily watching as Grant tries making sick by spinning him in a swivel chair off to her left. "Relax Gide, just let everyone have their fun until then, let my brothers be the kids they're supposed to be right now."

A bitter sigh can be heard coming from Gideon's metaphorical lips. "Fine, they can have their fun for now, but give them these pills when they leave." A small drawer pops out from the console, presenting two pills for Rose to examine. "Many years in the future, Rip Hunter and Lena Luthor develop pills to safely erase the memories of those who know of future events, all this adventure will be to your brother is a dream that they won't remember tomorrow."

"So, they won't remember me or anything I did with them?" Rose asks, taking the pills in her shaky hands and debating with herself whether she should give them to her brothers after everything they've been through in such a short time.

"No, I'm sorry, Ms Wilson. This is how it has to be." Gideon says with a heavy tone of sadness and regret, as if the computer program can feel Rose's pain. "I'll give you time to say your goodbyes, then we must leave for the present even if I have to fly the ship myself."

Rose takes out the earpiece, then puts head in her hands to think deeply, her thoughts are disrupted by her bothers and she looks up with a smile to hide the conflict on her face as she wishes they were members of her family in the future, but knowing they can't be. She breathes deeply to give herself strength and walks to over them at a slow pace before kneeling to be eye level. "Alright, you two, pop a squat and take these relaxation meds, I know this is overwhelming."

They take the pills without a second thought and give Rose a share expression of confusion when she takes them into a group hug, she then proceeds to speak with them over their shoulders from within the embrace so they don't see the tears on Rose's face or how this decision to leave is absolutely tearing her apart. "I have to leave for my home now, but I want you both to try to remember my next words. You're enough, no matter if anyone tells you differently, you are enough and you are loved so look after one another when no one else will. Understand?"

As the Wilson family share their final hug, Dinah sneakily takes a photo of how for the briefest moment in time Grant, Joey, and Rose all put aside their personal demons to become what each of them needed, a family in the darkest times, and that's a moment worth capturing in stone forever.

She manages to keep her emotions together while waving goodbye to her older brothers as Oliver and Dinah lead them off the ship and the door slowly close. "It's time." Gideon says over the onboard speakers in a careful tone, encouraging Rose to fly the ship home when she probably wants to stay. So, Rose takes a deep breath that does nothing to release her aggression, then sits down at the flight controls and begins the startup sequence as she dares herself not to look back. "You did the right thing, Ms Wilson."

Rose's hands tighten around the controls as tears roll down her cheeks, but she remains strong. "It's all any of us can do, Gideon, even if it hurts like hell."

* * *

The Waverider decloaks in the Watchtower's hanger bay without any fanfare as if the ship never left its parking spot, maybe that's for the best if it means Rose won't get into any trouble, all she cares about now is the results of her trip. "Did we do it? Did we save Grant?"

"No." Gideon responds in a somber and sobering tone, causing Rose's gleeful smile to fade and tears to fall immediately before she screams with guttural weeping like she's experiencing the pain of her brother's loss all over again. "Your trip to the past still happened and despite your intervention in your brothers' lives, history corrected itself as if the trip had never taken place. I'm truly sorry."

Rose pounds on the console in a blind rage even she has never felt before, even when tries doing something for the right reasons, it turns out to be the wrong decision, always leaving her bloody and broken. Eventually, the anger disapates and the constant tiredness sets in that comes with a  harrowing journey of this nature where Rose wants to just drown in her own tears until gives a little bit of hope back. "You may want to dry your eyes, Ms. Wilson, your family is approaching the ship."

"I'm good, I'm good." With Gideon's words fresh in her mind, Rose quickly lifts her head and wipes her eyes dry, pushing down her feeling about her brothers before glancing through the windshield and seeing Olivia helping Connor walk on crutches while also holding Harper in her arms, so Rose quickly grabs their hero gear and heads outside to at a quick pace to meet them halfway.

Just seeing Connor at a closer distance after their brief time apart is enough for Rose to drop everything in favor of leaping in Connor's arms, wrapping her legs around his waist before kissing him so passionately that it takes everyone by and causing Olivia to evert Harper's gaze so the baby won't ask questions when she begins speaking. "Hi, Pretty boy, I love you so much." She says when coming up for air between kisses.

"I guess I was missed and we can talk about relationship later, but are you okay? I wasn't  expecting you to be like this since we saw each other half an hour ago." Connor's question is met by another kiss by Rose as he begins struggling to hold her up in his arms while standing on one leg right now. "I love you, too, but can I put you down?"

Rose swift detaches herself from Connor, and Olivia inquisitively spots the large floral tattoo while her back is turned. "Huh, nice new tattoo ink there, Rose, I never realized your time at the flower shop meant that much to you. Did you have it done while in 1968?"

"Something like that, kid." She says, holding Olivia close and kissing her head before she does the same with Harper in the same loving manner. "It may have been thirty minutes here, but It's been a lot longer for me and it's probably best if I explain everything when we get home."

As the Queen-Wilson makes their way towards the watchtower's teleporters, they are stopped by Diana on the way out as she holds a folder with two packets inside and the rest of the standing Justice League behind her. "Mr. Queen, Ms. Wilson, thanks to your help, the mission to bring Samuel home was a great success. So, on behalf of my colleagues, I offer the two of you full Justice League membership! What do you say?" Maybe you can help keep us honest like Oliver once did."

Connor and Rose look at each other as if they're waiting for the other person to start cracking up, which causes both to eurpt in this ruckus and absurd laughter as if they can't quite believe what was just asked before Connor steps forward to address the League and his smile disappears quickly like turning off a light. "Growing up, my parents told Olivia and I about their adventures on Justice League as bedtime stories and at the time of being a young child, I had always hoped to be here one day among my heroes, but looking now, I realize how much the Justice League absolutely terrifies me because you're not heroes, you're gods."

"You're gods who sit up here on your Mount Olympus and pass judgement on the ground beneath you, I mean, that's literally the case for three of you!" He says, gesturing to Diana, Hunter, and Kara. "So, what's stopping any League member from firing the Watchtower's big fuck-off laser cannon at us just because someone pissed you off? When that comes, I'll be one of many people in a long line ready to hold you accountable, I will never be a party to that heinous kind of action."

"Please understand that I have the deepest respect for each and every person here, but if you truly need someone like me or my father to keep the Justice League honest instead of doing so yourselves, then you don't deserve to be heroes anymore." Connor uses everyone's stunned silence to his advantage by disappearing down the hall, but he only make it around the corner before Rose and Olivia catch up as Connor struggles to catch his breath after what he did. "What did I just do? Did I just tell off the Justice League?"

"You did." Olivia say while rushing to her brother's side to keep him upright when his knees threaten to give out under him, putting one his arms around her shoulders to help him walk while Rose continues following with Harper. "And you did it by sticking to your beliefs with a speech that could've come straight of dad's mouth, he and mom would be so proud of you."

Connor smiles half-heartily like he doesn't quite believe what she's say until both Olivia and Rose give him a shared look saying it's okay to feeling proud of oneself and just take today as a win, a feeling he hasn't in a long time, but he doesn't like experiencing this feeling alone. "No, they would be proud of all of us."

* * *

"With Connor's limited mobility for the time being and since he's at work right now, you're the only one who can help me gather old photos for my photography project from the attic, so I appreciate the help. Thank you, Rose, in fact, you get to be the first photo in my exabit. Smile."

"Kind of hard to do when you can't even see me right now." Rose says while approaching Olivia with two large cardboard boxes obscuring her face. "Where do you want these?" Olivia helps Rose sit the boxes on the couch next to her before she takes a photo of Rose as she places her hands on hips and blows a loose strand of hair out of her face. "I'm gonna grab more boxes, back in a second."

Upon climbing the ladder leading to the attic, Rose absent-mindedly grabs another box of photo albums before her eyes are drawn to one album in particular.  **Queen Family Photos 2004-05.** She doesn't know what she's looking for while placing the box on the floor and opens the leather bound book, maybe she's looking for how Oliver and Dinah are adapting to being new parents since Connor would be born in the same year as Rose herself.

Each page of photos builds on the last and causes Rose's smile widen the more she looks at how happy the Queen Family is with baby Connor during his first very formative year of life, it reminds her of she's experience with Harper right now because her daughter is so much like her father in so many ways that Rose is eternally grateful for.

"You okay up there, Rose? Did you get lost?"

Rose takes Olivia's question as a que to come back to reality and pack up the box before standing up to leave when a sudden photograph lands by her feet, calling for her to pick a photo of the last group hug she shared with her brothers on the Waverider from weeks ago, she never knew Dinah had taken a picture of the moment, much less kept it in her albums for safekeeping, but it's Dinah's inscription on the back the that truly brings Rose to joyful tears.

**For Rose, Grant, and Joseph Wilson, good people who will always be welcome in our home with open and loving arms.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, I considered switching up the couples for the whole time travel mission, and here's how I would've done it.
> 
> Connor and Lena because rich trust fend babies gotta stick together, and I think it would've been cool to reintroduce the whole Green Lantern/Green Arrow dynamic.  
> Hunter and Rose would have been an interesting dynamic because Hunter was on the Teen Titans when Grant died.  
> Lorena and Kara because that could be strange because they've both been in a relationship with Hunter, Kara being his first girlfriend and Lorena being his wife.


End file.
